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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY GERMANIC STUDIES 
Vol. II. No. III. 



EDWARD YOUNG 
IN GERMANY 

Historical Surveys 

Influence upon German Literature 

Bibliography 



BY 



JOHN LOUIS KIND, Ph.D. 

SOMETIME CARL SCHURZ FELLOW IN GERMAN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 




THE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, AGENTS 

LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 

1906 

All rights reserved 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY GERMANIC 
STUDIES 

Edited by William H. Carpenter and Calvin Thomas 

Vol I 

No. I. SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE ON SOUTH- 
ERN LOWLAND SCOTCH. A Contribution to 
the Study of the Linguistic Relations of English and 
Scandinavian. By George Tobias Flom, Ph.D. 8vo, 
paper, pp. xv + 82. Price, ;^i.oo net. 

No. 2. OSSIAN IN GERMANY. Bibliography, General 
Survey, Ossian's Influence on Klopstock and the Bards. 
By Rudolf Tombo, Jr., Ph.D. 8vo, paper, pp. iv + 
157. Price, ;$i.oo net. 

No. 3. THE INFLUENCE OF OLD NORSE LITERA- 
TURE UPON ENGLISH LITERATURE. By 
Conrad Hjalmar Nordby. 8vo, paper, pp. xi + 78. 
Price, ;^i.oo net. 

No. 4. THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA AND PERSIA 
ON THE POETRY OF GERMANY. By Ar- 
thur F. J. Remy, Ph.D. 8vo, paper, pp. xi + 81. 
Price, ;^i.oo net. 

Vol. II 

No. I. LAURENCE STERNE IN GERMANY. A Con- 
tribution to the Study of the Literary Relations of 
England and Germany in the Eighteenth Century. 
By Harvey Waterman Thayer, Ph.D. 8vo, paper, 
pp. v + 198. Price, ;;^i.oo net. 

No. 2. TYPES OF WELTSCHMERZ IN GERMAN 
POETRY. By Wilhelm Alfred Braun, Ph.D 
8vo, paper, pp. v+91. Price, ;^i.oo net. 




EDWARD YOUNG IN GERMANY 



•rt^^o. 



>i) ^^ o 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY GERMANIC STUDIES 
Vol. II. No. III. 



EDWARD YOUNG 
IN GERMANY 

Historical Surveys 

Influence upon German Literature 

Bibliography 



BY 



JOHN LOUIS KIND, Ph.D. 

SOMETIME CARL SCHURZ FELLOW IN GERMAN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 




Kein gork 
THE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, AGENTS 

LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 

1906 

All n'z'zts reserved 






UBRABY of CONGRESS 
Two Coni»"f Received 

yUl 80 1906 

I'yn^M tr.liy . 
COPY B. 



Vs:- 



Copyright, 1906, 
Bv THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 

Set up and electrotyped. Published July, 1906. 



y 



f 




NortoooH |3uss 

J. 8. Gushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 



NOTE 

The author of the present monograph has undertaken to 
record, more fully than has hitherto been attempted, the his- 
tory of German interest in the works of Edward Young, and to 
trace in detail the influence which they have had upon German 
hterature That such an influence has been exerted, particularly 
by the "Night Thoughts" and the "Conjectures on Original 
Composition," is a matter that has long been generally recog- 
nized, and a considerable literature has arisen upon the subject 
in its various phases. No such systematic treatment, however, 
as this, in which the whole matter is historically considered, 
has thus far been made. The writer in carrying out his plan has 
most carefully reexamined the case in all its bearings, and has 
made, in this way, a contribution of undoubted reality and 
value to our knowledge of certain aspects of the literature of 
Germany in an important period of its history. 

WILLIAM H. CARPENTER. 

Columbia University, May 6, 1906. 



TO 

THE MEMORY 

OF 

CARL SCHURZ 

TH!S WORK 

IS MOST RESPECTFULLY 

DEDICATED 



PREFACE 

The purpose of this investigation is to record as completely 
as possible the history of German interest in Young's works, 
and of the influence they exerted upon German literature, from 
the time of their first introduction to the present day. 

The fact that the "Night Thoughts" exerted an extensive 
and powerful influence upon German poetry, likewise the fact 
that the German Geniekult, or literary glorification of "original 
genius," was greatly promoted and accelerated by the treatise 
"Conjectures on Original Composition," has long been recog- 
nized. Much has also been written upon the subject, in general 
and in detail. There seemed, nevertheless, to be room for 
further investigation, and especially for a treatment historically 
arranged and developed. 

A word as to the arrangement and treatment of the various 
chapters. The "Conjectures" are discussed first, altho writ- 
ten many years after the " Night Thoughts," because the subject- 
matter is newer and the results consequently more important. 

For the sun^ey of literary criticism in England prior to the 
"Conjectures" Thomas's excellent life of Young ^ was most 
helpful, as thruout the dissertation, for its correct and ex- 
tensive data on Young's Hfe and works. Altho the Shake- 
speare Jahrbuch of 1903 contains a resume and reprint of the 
" Conjectures," it d d not seem superfluous to give another 
synopsis of this essay, which is perhaps not too well known even 
to scholars. Chapter I having shown the position occupied by 
the "Conjectures" in England, Chapter II reviews succinctly 
literary criticism in Germany prior to the introduction of the 
"Conjectures," and then traces their influence historically as 
far as possible. All matter pertaining to the translations is 
treated together, altho necessarily breaking the chronological 

^ " Le Poete Edward Young (1683-1765) : Etude sur sa Vie et sesCEuvres par 
W. Thomas." Paris, 190T. 

ix 



order to some extent. Then follows in chronological order the 
discussion of the Litter aturbriefe, the Schleswigsche Litteratur- 
briefe and other writings of Gerstenberg, then the "Hamburg- 
ische Dramaturgic," which strictly should have been preceded by 
Herder's "Fragmente." However, the latter are best included 
under Herder's activity as a whole. Hamann and Herder, as 
the protagonists of the Geniekult, form the climax of the in- 
vestigation. In Hamann the discussion is confined quite 
closely to direct influence of Young; whereas, in the case of 
Herder, a broader treatment seemed necessary, — one extend- 
ing beyond Young's immediate influence and including Herder's 
general position in literary matters. 

Chapter IH, the survey of the " Night Thoughts" in Germany, 
deals historically with the introduction of Young's poem into 
Germany, the gradual increase and culmination of its popularity, 
the ensuing decline of its influence, the defection from its spirit, 
and the causes that led to this result. The second part of this 
chapter, treating of the influence of the "Night Thoughts" 
upon German writers, needs perhaps some apology. It was 
found, after thoro investigation, that Barnstorff's disserta- 
tion ^ had virtually exhausted the subject of verbal correspond- 
ences in the influence of the "Night Thoughts" upon Gernian 
writers. In some instances I have added material along the 
lines pursued by Bamstorff, but my aim on the whole has been 
to show how much the various writers concerned themselves 
with the "Night Thoughts," so far as one can judge from their 
letters and works, without going into the citation of line-for- 
line parallels, to repeat which, after Bamstorff, would be futile. 
In arranging these writers I have followed Goedeke's "Grund- 
riss" as closely as possible. The Swiss are treated first here as 
in the history of the movement, and followed by Gottsched, 
because he was the great opponent of Bodmer. The group of 
the Bremer Beitrdge are, of course, the most important, and 
Ebert as the chief translator of Young has a right to head the 
list. Their associates and friends are also placed in this group, 
as well as others who belong to no special school. Klopstock 

^ " Youngs Nachtgedanken und ihr Einfluss auf die deutsche Litteratur von 
Johannes Barnstorfif. Mit einem Vorwort von Franz Muncker. " Bamberg, 
1895. 



was likewise an associate, but since he was the center about 
which the league of Gottingen writers, the Gottinger Dichter' 
bund, revolved, he has been placed at the head of that school, 
forming in this arrangement, as in life, a connecting link be- 
tween the Bremer Beitrdger and the Gottinger Dickterhund. 
Crugot, Zimmermann, and Lavater were best grouped as 
philosophical writers, and the "Other Writers" need no further 
comment, except the fact that they are as nearly as possible 
arranged chronologically. 

All of the classical writers, except Klopstock, were inclined 
to oppose Young's influence rather than to further it, and so they 
are placed first among the v/riters who led the reaction against 
the "Night Thoughts." 

The minor works, except the "Revenge," exerted no con- 
siderable influence, but an account of the interest taken in them 
by the Germans may not be amiss. The arrangement here, 
too, follows no special system, but in general is based upon the 
importance attached to the works in Germany. 

To Professor Calvin Thomas especially is due my warmest 
gratitude for the interest he has taken in this thesis, and the 
constant inspiration that he has given me during its progress. 
It is a pleasure also to tender my most grateful thanks to Pro- 
fessor William H. Carpenter of Columbia University, and 
Professor Laurence Fossler of the University of Nebraska, for 
their stimulating and never failing assistance in my graduate 
work. I shall ever consider it a rare privilege to have been able 
to pursue the major part of my graduate studies under these 
three scholars. 

New York, May i, 1906. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

The "Conjectures on Original Composition" 

1 . Young's Relation to Earlier English Writers of the Eigh- 

teenth Century ........ i 

2. Outline of the " Conjectures " 2 

3. Critical Consideration of the "Conjectures " ... 7 

CHAPTER II 

The "Conjectures" in Germany 

I. General Survey of German Thought on Original Composi- 
tion prior to 1760 . . . . . . .11 

fe., The Translations of 1760 and 1787 ..... 14 

3. The Litteratiirbriefe and the Idea of Originality . . ig 

4. Heinrich Wilhelm von Gerstenberg and the ScJileswigsche 

Litteraturbf-iefe . . . . . . . .22 

5. The Idea of Originality in the" HamburgischeDramaturgie" 26 

6. Johann Georg Hamann ....... 28 

7. Johann Gottfried Herder ....... 40 

8. Conclusion ......... 57 

CHAPTER III 
The "Night Thoughts" in Germany 

1. Historical Survey ........ 59 

2. Influence upon German Writers ..... 75 

CHAPTER IV 

Other Works of Young in Germany 

1. The Satires ......... 120 

2. The Tragedies . . . . . • • . -123 



XIV 

PAGE 

3. The Minor Works included in Eberf s Translation of 1754- 

1756 129 

4. "Resignation" and Other Minor Works .... 132 

CHAPTER V 

Bibliography of German Translations, Editions, Reviews, 
AND Notices 

1. Introduction . . . . . . . • -134 

2. Bibliography ......... 135 

Index 181 



EDWARD YOUNG IN GERMANY 



CHAPTER I 

THE "CONJECTURES ON ORIGINAL 
COMPOSITION" 

I. Young's Relation to Earlier English Writers of 
THE Eighteenth Century 

The " Conjectures on Original Composition," which appeared 
in the spring of 1759, is one of the most important works on 
literary criticism written in the second half of the eighteenth 
century. It was, in a way, the natural outgrowth of the contro- 
versy that had been carried on in England since the beginning 
of the century, as to the relative merits of the ancient classical 
and the modem writers, and was directed against the so-called 
Neo-classical School. 

Beginning with Dryden and Pope, who considered the an- 
cient classics perfect, or at least superior to the works of later 
generations, and who recommended imitation of the ancients 
as the only safe method for modem writers to pursue, themselves 
setting the example by translating some of the leading works 
of the ancients, there had been a growing tendency in England 
to idolize these ancients and to disparage all other works. 
Naturally, there sprang up an opposition to these views, that 
gained comparatively little favor, however, until about 1725, 
when the revival of Shakspere enthusiasm was well under way, 
supported by an interest in old English ballads and in the work 
of such poets as Ramsay and Thomson, who owed but little to 
the ancients. 

The fmits of this reaction, in point of literary form, are best 
seen in the increasing preference for blank verse and the Spen- 
serian stanza, and in the diminishing use of rime. About the 
middle of the century the periodicals took up the discussion in 
articles and reviews, the same reaction was manifested in art 
criticism, and the results were applied in the domain of letters. 



When, in 1757, the first volume of Warton's "Essay on the 
Writings and Genius of Pope" appeared, which was dedicated, 
it is interesting to note, to Young, and which denied Pope the 
rank of a great poet, the cause of the moderns seemed in the 
ascendency. But its triumph did not last long. The discus- 
sion was fiercely revived, and the reaction that set in was so 
intense that the Neo-classical School seemed about to score a 
complete victory. It was then that Young was urged by his 
friends to pubHsh his views on the subject,* and the effect of 
his work was immediate. Warton had already robbed Pope 
of much of the infallibility attributed to him by his enthusiastic 
admirers ; but now the mortal man was exposed to even clearer 
view, and an attack was made upon all his confreres as well. 
But Young's chief service is not in shattering false idols; he 
is not merely an iconoclast. He makes free use of the results 
of advanced contemporary thought, collecting and welding it 
into a brilHant literary whole ; he builds, inspires, leads on, and 
becomes the prophet of the promised land of EngHsh letters. 

Altho the outcome of the reaction against the Neo-classical 
School was the emancipation of genius, the supremacy of 
originality and individualism. Young's essay itself had no pro- 
longed influence in England. It was reviewed and discussed 
by the leading writers of the day, attracted considerable atten- 
tion for a time, and then disappeared in the triumph of the 
reaction which it had helped to precipitate. In Germany, 
its effect was greater and more lasting, due to the fortunate 
coincidence that it appeared at a moment of indecision, when 
the Germans were groping after originals. Thus the doctrine 
of individuality and original genius, which Young proclaimed, 
became the watchword of a whole, new, literary school. 

2. Outline of the "Conjectures" 

Young first discusses composition in general. There can 
not be too much literary composition, he contends, provided that 

^ The "Conjectures" were written in 1756, and the manuscript had been 
read by Young's most intimate friends before its pubhcation in 1759. 



it emanates from sound understanding and is written in the real 
service of mankind. The mind of a man of genius, he declares, 
enjoys a perpetual spring, and the fairest flowers of that spring 
are the originals, " Iinitations are of two kinds : one of nature, 
one of authors ; the first we call originals, and confine the term 
'imitation' to the second." ^ The latter increase the mere drug 
of books, because they only give us dupHcates of what we had, 
and even when excellent but build upon another's foundation; 
the debt is equal to the glory, and the "imitator shares his 
crown, if he has one, with the chosen object of his imitation." 

Originals, on the other hand, are great benefactors; they 
extend the republic of letters, they are of spontaneous growth, 
and even when mediocre are indebted to no one but nature. 
Originals are few in number, not because the writer's harvest 
is over, but because illustrious examples ''engross, prejudice, 
and intimidate." And yet most of the ancients are only acciden- 
tal originals; for the works they imitated are, with few excep- 
tions, lost. He who does not admire them shows that he does not 
understand them. Furthermore, we should even imitate them, 
but imitate aright; i.e. we should "build our compositions with 
the spirit and in the taste of the ancients, but not with their 
materials;" and this explains the paradox: "The less we copy 
the ancients, we shall resemble them the more." We modems 
lack ambition or we could equal the ancients; for "have we 
not their beauties as stars to guide, their defects as rocks to be 
shunned, the judgment of ages on both, as a chart to conduct, 
and a sure helm to steer us in our passage to greater perfection 
than theirs? Too great awe for them lays genius under re- 
straint. . . . Genius is a master- workman : learning is but 
an instrument." Genius is "the power of accompHshing great 
things without the means generally reputed necessary to that 
end. . . . Learning ... is fond and proud of what has cost 
it much pains, is a great lover of rules, and . . . rules, like 
crutches, are a needful aid to the lame, tho an impediment to 
the strong." And here a second paradox: "Genius often then 
deserves most to be praised, when it is most sure to be con- 

^ All citations follow as closely as possible the first, original edition of 1759, 
with modernized spelling and punctuation. 



demned; that is, when its excellence, from mounting high, to 
weak eyes is quite out of sight." 

Among the modems, Shakspere is a star of the first magni- 
tude; among the ancients, Pindar. They relied upon their 
own native powers; genius was the god within them, and so 
they did not need learning. 

There are two kinds of genius : adult and infantine. Shak- 
spere was of the first kind and came from the hand of nature, 
as Pallas out of the head of Jove, "at full growth and mature." 
Swift, on the contrary, was an infantine genius, and such 
genius, "like other infants, must be nursed and educated." 
In such a case the classics are "our rightful and revered masters 
in composition " ; but the pupils of nature need no such master. 
Nor is genius as rare as we imagine. Were not the minds of 
the monks cloistered almost as much as their bodies? Yet we 
must marvel at their natural sagacity. Many a genius probably 
has remained undiscovered, because he could neither read nor 
write. 

"By the praise of genius we detract not from learning; we 
detract not from the value of gold by saying that diamond has 
greater still. He who disregards learning shows that he wants 
its aid, and he that overvalues it shows that its aid has done him 
harm. Overvalued, indeed, it can not be, if genius as to com- 
position is valued more. Learning we thank, genius we revere ; 
that gives us pleasure, this gives us rapture ; that informs, this 
inspires and is itself inspired ; for genius is from heaven, learn- 
ing from man; this sets us above the low and illiterate, that 
above the learned and polite. Learning is borrowed knowledge, 
genius is knowledge innate and quite our own. Therefore, as 
Bacon observes, it may take a nobler name and be called wis- 
dom ; in which sense of wisdom some are born wise." 

Genius suiTers thru the spirit of imitation for three reasons: 
first, imitation deprives men of letters of the emulation to sur- 
pass predecessors. Secondly, it counteracts nature and thwarts 
her design. She brings us all into the world originals, but that 
"meddling ape imitation" makes us die copies. Third, imita- 
tion "makes us think little and write much." 

Modem powers are equal to those of antiquity, but modern 



productions are deplorably inferior. There are reasons why 
talents may not appear in every epoch, none why they should 
not exist. "That we may not go a-begging with gold in our 
purse," Young recommends two golden rules borrowed from 
ethics: "first. Know thyself; secondly, Reverence thyself." 
That is, discover and nourish the inherent spark of genius 
within you, and then prefer its natural products to foreign im- 
portations. He who does not do this, on account of too servile 
admiration of others, can never rise above the throng nor con- 
ceive the least embryo of new thought. 

"Admiration has generally a degree of two very bad ingredi- 
ents in it : of ignorance, and of fear," and these raise the pedestal 
for the "grandees of all kinds." "Imitators and translators 
are somewhat of this pedestal kind and sometimes rather raise 
their original's reputation by showing him to be by them inimi- 
table." Homer, in spite of Pope's rimed verses, is still untrans- 
lated. And this leads our author to a discussion of poetry and 
a defence of blank verse. "Harmony," he says, "as well as 
eloquence, is essential to poesy ; and a murder of his music is 
putting half Homer to death. Blank is a term of diminution; 
what we mean by blank verse is verse unfallen, uncursed, verse 
reenthroned in the true language of the gods, who never thun- 
dered, nor suffered their Homer to thunder, in rime." 

Then Young criticises the writers of the English Neo-classical 
School. He sees in Swift's satire a monstrous distortion of 
humanity, a contempt that is a vice. Pope would have done: 
better in an original attempt, but he, alas, not only imitated, but 
zealously recommended imitation. Thus he has given us only 
a copy of Homer, whereas the courage and ambition to vie with 
that Grecian bard might have given us a second Homer — a 
Pope. But, as Bacon says, " Men seek not to know their own 
stock and abilities, but fancy their possessions to be greater and 
their abihties less than they really are." "If," Young resumes, 
"ancients and moderns were no longer considered as masters 
and pupils, but as hard-matched rivals for renown," moderns 
might in time become ancients of even a superior ilk; for an 
impartial providence scatters talents indifferently in all periods 
of time, the world is a school for intelligence as well as moral 



advance, and we in our days have the advantage of all the 
preceding centuries of nature's schoohng. From the Britons 
especially may something new be expected ; they seem to need, 
in order to give us originals, little more "than a consistency of 
character and making their compositions of a piece with their 
lives." In fact they already have great originals and of these 
Shakspere is the greatest. "Shakspere mingled no water 
with his wine. . . . Shakspere gave us a Shakspere, nor 
could the first in ancient fame have given us more. Shakspere 
is not their son but brother, their equal, and that in spite of all 
his faults"; for the ancients themselves are not measured by 
the fewness of their faults, but by the number and brightness 
of their beauties. 

"Jonson,^ in the serious drama, is as much an imitator as 
Shakspere is an original." He was too learned, "pulled down 
all antiquity on his head and buried himself under it." If 
Shakspere had read more, he might have thought less, and 
whatever other learning he wanted, he was master of two books : 
the book of nature and the book of man. " If Milton had spared 
some of his learning, his muse would have gained m.ore glory 
than he would have lost by it." ^ "Dryden, destitute of Shak- 
spere's genius, had almost as much learning as Jonson ^ and for 
the buskin quite as httle taste. He was a stranger to pathos," 
and strove to make amends for it by the elegance of his verse. 
The greatest proof of his lack of taste is the use of rime, "which, 
in epic poetry, is a sore disease; in the tragic, absolute death." 
It elevates lesser poetry, but debases the greater. 

Addison had "a warm and feeling heart," but concealed it 
thru modesty, and his "Cato" fails thru want of tragic pathos, 
which is the life and soul of tragedy. 

Young then sums up this triumvirate in the following words : 
"Swift is a singular wit. Pope a correct poet, Addison a great 
author." Addison wrote sweet, elegant, Virgilian prose, he 
continues, and his writings are valuable ; but more valuable 
his Hfe, and his death triumphant. Thus Young passes from 
literary criticism into an extended eulogy on Addison's 
Christian death. 

* Young wrote " Johnson." ^ Added in the second edition. 



3- Critical Consideration of the "Conjectures" 

Young writes in the introduction to the "Conjectures," "I j 
begin with Original Composition; and the more wilhngly, as ! 
it seems an original subject to me who have seen nothing hitherto ■ 
written on it." Taking him at his word, one might be inclined 
to look upon the treatise as the embodiment of entirely new 
thought on a new subject, and hence consider it unnecessary to 
look for sources of influence. But in view of the lively dis- \ 
cussion that had for several decades been carried on in England | 
with regard to the comparative merits of ancient and modem I 
writers, and considering, furthermore, the interest that Young ( 
took in the debate, as evinced by his own works,^ it would seem 
strange that all these arguments in favor of originality had es- 
caped him, even in his retirement in Welwyn. The above- 
quoted sentence, "and the more willingly, as it seems an original 
subject to me who have seen nothing hitherto written on it," 
does not belong to the original edition of May, 1759, but was 
added in the second edition. It looks very much, therefore, 
Uke a subsequent attempt to give the treatise more weight by 
claiming for it the stamp of that very originality which it preaches. 
Furthermore, when upon investigation one sees the extent of his . 
indebtedness to his predecessors and contemporaries, the claim, \ 
as made by Young, is all the more curious. At all events, it is 
a claim that needs the following qualification that has recently 
been given it by A. Brandl.^ 

Since the time of Ben Jonson it had been generally accepted \ 
that Shakspere was a genius without learning. Dryden had j 
called him "the largest and most comprehensive soul of all 
modern and perhaps ancient poets." ^ Dryden and Addison 
had pointed out what they took to be his faults, which Young 
admits, but passes over lightly. Young's merit is, then, rather 
his proclamation of Shakspere as an original genius^ and yet 1 
even this Pope had long ago insisted upon with the greatest 
emphasis, linking the names of Homer and Shakspere as great 

' W. Thomas: "Le Poete Edward Young." Paris, 1901, pp. 464-465. 

^ Jahrhiich der deutschen Shakespeare-Gesellschaft. Vol. XXXIX, pp. 1-42. 

^ Cf. " Essay of Dramatic Poesy," 1668. 



: original writers.* But both Pope and Addison, and Dryden 
■ before them, had looked upon Shakspere as inimitable and had 
warned writers against attempting to walk in his footsteps. 
This caution Young overrules, urging that Shakspere, or rather 
his independent way of studying and depicting nature and man, 
should be imitated. This is the main point of Young's essay 
as regards Shakspere 

The relation of genius to learning, too, had long been the sub- 
: ject of discussion, attd sinccthe' time oTScQ_Jonson learning had 
had rather the best of it. Poetry was conceived as the imitation 
of nature thru the imitation of the best literary models, and 
literary criticism undertook to regulate the mutual relations of 
the two. Pope's "Essay on Criticism" (1709-1711) is the 
classical expression of this theory Addison, in the Spectator 
(171 1), classified genius as natural and cultivated: the first 
represented by Homer, Pindar, and Shakspere, the second by 
Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, Cicero, Milton, and Bacon. Thus he 
placed the writers of natural genius that Pope called exceptions, 
and in whom "a nameless grace" and fortunate "licence . . . 
snatch a grace be^yond the reach of art," ^ in a class which he 
considered equal to the second, i.e. equal to the writers of learned 
genius, ^haftesbury, in his "Characteristics" (1711), likewise 
distinguished-4he-«arme two kinds of genius. He even attributed 
the scarcity of the products of natural genius in modern times 
to the abundance of literary models, anticipating Young's 
diatribe against servile imitation. But Addison wisely applied 
the classification to the then lively controversy concerning ancient 
and modern writers, and to the kindred question, the valuation 
of Shakspere as an original genius. Addison's merit is, 
further, that he conceded to this natural genius "something 
nobly wild and extravagant, a heat and life of the imagination, 
greatness, and daring," such as Shakspere evinces in his 
wonderful portrayal of supernatural beings.^ This fortunate 
concession gained a considerable following,^ which steadily in- 

* Edition of Shakspere, 1725. 

' "Essay on Criticism," verses 144 ff. 

' Spectator, No. 160, 171 1. Cf. also his essays, 41 1-42 1, 1712. 

* Cf. Jahrbuch der deutschen Shakespeare-Gesellschajt, I.e. pp. 5-6. 



creased, so that by the time Young published his views it had 
become a commonplace of critics that the writer who wishes to 
be original must be able not only to discover, but also to invent 
something new out of his own imagination. 

The classification of genius as adult and infantine dates bac2\ 
to Addison.^ The preference for originals was the common 
preference of the more advanced thinkers, and so Young ad- 
vanced beyond them only by contending that modern writers 
can and should be originals: first, by knowing themselves; 
secondly, by reverencing themselves. But 3acon, in hi^ 
"Advancement of Learning" (1605), had already nm'ted at this,\ 
and hence Young's only merit is that he took these precepts 
from ethics and applied them to literary esthetics. 

Further, in recommending the imitation of the spirit of the 
ancients, as distinguished from imitation of their works, Young 
solved the problem of the relative merits of the ancients and the 
moderns, by according to each their due : to the ancients rever- 
ence, to the moderns freedom. Richardson immediately pointed 
out the fact that Young's distinction between performance and 
power was not entirely new, but was found in Warburton. 
Young's merit is, therefore, the more universal application of 
this thought of Warburton, which the latter had used to defend 
Pope. 

Young's value, then, lies not so much in the presentation of 
new thought, as in summing up and promulgating with a special, 
new application the most advanced critical opinion of the 
tirties, in a manner that was unprecedented, and with an ardor 
that drew attention at once to the principles involved and 
assured to them the consideration of all enlightened minds. 

In regard t o literary forrn, the *' Conjectures" show the same 
lack~~or~clearness ot expression and orderly arrangement of 
material, so noticeable in the ''Night Thoughts" and previous 
works. Their greatest irrelevancy, however, is the extensive 
eulogy on Addison's Christian death, beautiful in itself but out 
of place in a work on original composition. For if the essay is 
to be regarded as a treatise on literary criticism, this long digres- 
sion is not needed; and if, on the other hand, the work was 
^ Spectator, No. 160, 171 1. Cf. also his essays, 41 1-42 1, 1712. 



10 

written merely, as Young himself says, to bring before the public 
this inspiring death-bed scene, then the title is a misnomer, and 
the greater part of the work is irrelevant. That he insisted 
upon including this eulogy in spite of Richardson's protest, 
shows that Young, even when presuming to write upon hterary 
matters, was primarily a morahst, a preacher. As such he 
appears in the "Night Thoughts"; and here, fifteen years 
later, we have a continuation of his favorite theme, the " Chris- 
tian Triumph." 

On the other hand, the work contains a wealth of picturesque 
similes and metaphors, powerful antitheses, convincing ex- 
hortations, and startling paradoxes, which give the treatise a 
brilHancy and vigor that make it now the most pleasing work 
from Young's pen, and paved its way a century and a half ago 
to success in both England and Germany. 



CHAPTER II 

THE "CONJECTURES ON ORIGINAL COMPO- 
SITION" IN GERMANY 

I. General Survey of German Thought on Original 
Composition prior to 1760 

If in England the "Conjectures" were the product of the 
times and represent the culmination of a long period of literary 
criticism, in Germany they opened a new epoch in critical and 
creative activity, an epoch that was to be the most important 
in the whole history of German letters. But even here they 
did not come unheralded; the way had been in a measure 
prepared. 

The early discussion of modem original genius, as opposed to 
the ancients, goes hand in hand with the introduction of Shak- 
spere into Germany. Koberstein ^ has sketched very carefully 
the gradual dawn of that great dramatist upon the Germans, 
and it is not necessary to repeat the details here. Suffice it to 
say that up to 1740 Shakspere was known only by name and at 
that in an incorrect form. Emending the abbreviation of the 
name in the Spectator, Bodmer wrote it " Saspar " and " Sasper." 
The next year "Julius Caesar" was translated by Borck into 
Alexandrines, a fair piece of work, which, however, suffered a 
bitter attack from Gottsched. Zedler's "Universal Lexicon" 
of 1743 calls Shakspere a successful poet without "special 
learning." Gottsched's periodicals mention him often from 
1745 to 1755, recognizing him as a genius, too faulty, however, 
to please that sturdy partizan of the French drama. But these 

' " Shakspeare's allmahliches Bekanntwerden in Deutschland," etc. In 
" Vermischte Aufsatze zur Litteraturgeschichte und Aesthetik." Dr. August 
Koberstein. Leipzig, 1858, pp. 165 ff. 

11 



12 

views were based entirely upon the translation of one tragedy, 
Borck's rendition of "Julius Caesar." 

In 1753, the periodical Neue Erweiterungen der Erkentniss 
und des Vergnilgens also recognizes Shakspere's genius, and, 
altho it deplores the fact that he did not know the ancients, 
it gives him credit for good taste and admits that a knowledge 
of the ancients might have intimidated his own genius. Being 
ignorant of acquired art, the critic declares, Shakspere followed 
nature ; for the latter spoke more thru him than he according 
to her. In 1 756-1 758, fragments of Shakspere's plays were 
translated from the French. 

As long as Gottsched ruled the German stage, Shakspere 
could make little progress in Germany; and, altho Bodmer 
and Breitinger had dispossessed the Leipzig arbiter elegan- 
iiarum of much of his prestige after the opening of their feud in 
1740, the Swiss alone could not depose him as dramatic author- 
ity ; other forces had to be enlisted — the ancients and the 
English. 

Lessing's "Miss Sara Sampson" (1755) gave the practical 
example necessary, and Nicolai's "Briefe iiber den itzigen 
Zustand der schoncn Wissenschaften in Deutschland," the same 
year placed in a clear light the advantages of the English for 
the German stage. Nicolai attacks Gottsched's antipathy to 
the English dramatists, and he too speaks of Shakspere as "a 
man without knowledge of rules, without learning, without 
order," and sees his strength in his power to portray human 
nature. But it was reserved for Lessing to drive Gottsched 
completely out of the field. In the Litteraturhrieje (1759) ^ he un- 
justly denied that former arbiter all recognition as a reformer 
of the German stage and expressed the wish that Gottsched had 
never meddled with the theater ; for his reforms, when not actual 
deteriorations, concern only trifles of no moment. Discussing 
Shakspere, Lessing insists that the English dramatist is su- 
perior to Corneille, even when judged by the standards of the 
ancients themselves, whom he scarcely knew. Corneille may 
be more similar to the ancients in technique, but Shakspere is 
more like them in spirit, and, no matter what his method, he 

1 Cf. the 17th "Brief," Feb. 16, 1759. 



13 

nearly always succeeds in attaining the purpose of tragedy. 
Young's "Conjectures" appeared the same year, confirming, 
directly from the land of Shakspere, the opinion of Lessing; 
and Shakspere's future was assured in Germany. 

The idea, then, that Shakspere was a genius without learn- 
ing, an idea familiar in England since the time of Ben Jonson, 
was also introduced into Germany, in the Spectator, simultane- 
ously with Shakspere's very name. Bodmer first met it in a 
French translation of Addison's periodical, but it was not until 
the first German translation of the Spectator appeared in 1739- 
1743, edited by Gottsched's worthy spouse, that the connection 
of Shakspere's name with that of Homer called attention to the 
merits of that inimitable genius, to whom rules were unknown 
and whose dramas, nevertheless, contained more beauties than 
the writings of shallower brains who knew and observed every 
rule.^ Pope's "Essay on Criticism," translated by DrolHnger 
and published in 1741, also taught the Germans to look upon 
Shakspere as an original who spoke not of nature, but thru 
her, a genius who had his faults. But going further. Pope pro- 
claimed that the rules of Aristotle must not be used to judge 
Shakspere's dramas ; that, he insisted, was Hke judging a man 
according to the laws of a country of which he is not a citizen.' 
Other writers, probably from the same source, knew Shakspere's 
secret. 

But not only in their attitude toward Shakspere were the 
Germans prepared for Young's "Conjectures." J. E. Schlegel, 
in discussing the subject of imitation, anticipates Young's 
distinction between imitation of nature and imitation of 
authors.* But he limits his discussion to the former as true 
imitations; whereas Young confines the term "imitation" 
to imitations of authors, and calls imitations of nature "origi- 
nals." 

Still more important is the advance made by Johann Adolf 

^ Cf. supra, p. 7. 

' Cf. Spectator, No. 592, 1714. 

^ Cf. Gerstenberg, infra, pp. 23-24; Hamann, infra, p. 38; Herder, infra, 
p. 42. 

* " Abhandlung von der Nachahmung," 1742. To be found in "Deutsche 
Litteraturdenkmale des 18. and 19. Jahrhunderts." Vol. XXVI, pp. 107-108. 



14 

Schlegel in his translation of Batteux's treatise "Les Beaux- 
Arts reduits a un meme principe," in 1751/ and in his notes to 
that translation. This work teaches Young's doctrine that the 
ancients should be our prototypes, whereas we have made them 
our lawgivers. To understand and appreciate the ancients, 
he says, we must be thoroly acquainted with their conditions, 
and not find fault because they do not comply with our ideas and 
customs, which were, of course, unknown to them.^ He deceives 
himself, he continues, who considers as a criterion of good taste 
what is only prejudice in favor of the ancients, — a sentiment 
that later turns up in Herder.^ We find here, too, as later in 
Young's "Conjectures," imitation of nature ranked above imita- 
tion of the ancients, in the advice : do the latter, if you have not 
the ability to do the former.* 

What would have been accomplished without the inspiration 
of Young's "Conjectures" is a matter for speculation; but it 
is plain that the Germans, having tired of following the French 
with Gottsched in the lead, and then the English with Bodmer, 
and the Swiss, were realizing the necessity of doing neither. 
Lessing's claim for the ancients could not even suffice, and they 
were beginning to feel that to write correctly they must not 
imitate at all. Thus Young, with his doctrine of originality, 
came in the very nick of time ; he pointed out Shakspere as 
the great original genius of modern times, a genius who created 
with his own powers and followed no one. For the rising genera- 
tion Shakspere and the ancients became irreconcilable oppo- 
nents; and Shakspere, typical of the possibilities of modem 
original genius, became the watchword of a new epoch in German 
letters. 

2. The Translations of 1760 and 1787 

/ 

J The "Conjectures" appeared in the spring of 1759,"^ and by 

fall Young had published a revised edition. Owing to the 

popularity of Young at that time among the Germans, it was 

* " Einschrankung der schonen Kiinste." Second edition, 1759; third, 1770. 
^ Cf. the third edition. Vol. I, p. 77. Cf. injra, pp. 23-24. 

^ Cf. ibid., Vol. II, p. 107. On Herder, cf. injra, pp. 47-48. 

* Cf. I.e. Vol. I, p. 122. * Cf. supra, pp. i, 2, 7. 



15 

natural that the latest work from his pen should find its way 
into Germany immediately. Gerstenberg's reviews in the 
Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen Kiinste, in 
the late summer of 1759, would tempt one to look for influence 
of the "Conjectures," and to infer that that critic had already 
read Young's work in the original/ But so much is certain: 
the work had come over to Germany early enough to allow 
Teubern to have his translation almost ready for the press by 
February, 1 760. The Leipzig Neuer " Zeilungen von Gelehrten 
Sachen contains the first notice of the "Conjectures," — a 
resume and favorable review of the work, with the announce- 
ment that a German translation is about to appear in Leipzig.^ 
This translation did appear shortly, signed by "v.T.," who was 
the Dresden Court Counsellor, Hans Ernst von Teubern (1738- 
1801). In the introduction he speaks of Young in the highest 
terms and confesses that he considers the task of translating so 
sublime a work a great undertaking and one to be held in awe, 
in view especially of Ebert's excellent work. This translation is 
made from the second English edition and follows the original 
very closely. A second edition, a reprint rather, of this transla- 
tion appeared in 1761, also in Leipzig. 

The year 1760 had also brought forth a different rendition by 
a translator who signed himself " G.* " This was published in 
the Freymiithige Brieje of Hamburg. The notice of the Vvork 
of which "Young is said to be the author"^ shows that this 
translator used the first edition. The introductory remarks find 
fault with the style of Young's epistle, especially considering it 
as a "letter." This translation seems to have attracted much 
less attention than the first one. 

Gottsched, who had shown a very kindly attitude toward the 
"Night Thoughts," reviewed Teubern's translation, soon after 
its appearance, in his periodical Das Neueste aus der anmuthigen 
Gelehrsamkeit and was very enthusiastic over Young's style. 

^ Cf. infra, p. 23. 

^ Titles are given as found upon the title-page. 

^ Works that can be easily found under their dates in the Bibliography, 
Chapter V, are not mentioned in these footnotes. 

* The first edition, March, 1759, had appeared anonymously. The second 
edition bears Young's name. 



16 

But the subject-matter! "Young should rather have continued 
to apply his imagination to the production of gloomy 'Night 
Thoughts,'" he says, "or to the creation of specters, ghosts, 
and witches' conclaves to frighten children ; instead of meddling 
with a treatise on critical matters, upon which he is not com- 
petent to throw any light." Yet at the end of his tirade Gott- 
sched finds himself constrained to admit that Young has said 
many good things, and that the translator has furnished a good 
reproduction ; still the critic can not but express regret that the 
translator did not apply his talents to another author, e.g. 
Shaftesbury. 

This brought down upon Gottsched's head the righteous 
indignation of Nicolai in the Litter aturhrieje of the following 
year. Nicolai says that he is not by any means an ardent 
admirer of Young, especially of his prose; but in the "Con- 
jectures," he declares, Young writes as one of the greatest 
original writers. The " Conjectures" is an admirable treatise — 
"Everywhere new and strange light is thrown upon the subject, 
the work abounds in excellent features, new remarks, profound 
thoughts, pithy opinions, correct decisions; much wit, and still 
more humor," etc. Such criticism as Gottsched's is the work 
of a blockhead, says Nicolai. 

The Bremisches Magazin, the same year, contains in transla- 
tion, an article on the "Conjectures," from the May number 
(1759) of the Gentleman's Magazine, without mentioning either 
one of the German translations. But the Bihliothek der schonen 
Wissenschaften und der jreyen Kunste, reviewing the work as a 
treatise written in a style so brilUant that it would do credit to 
an ardent youth, mentions the two German translations and 
thinks the work already so well known in Germany that nothing 
more need be said about it. The Gottingische Anzeigen von 
Gelehrten Sachen reviewed the second edition of Teubcrn's trans- 
lation with praise for both the translator and Young. 

A discussion, in the Beytrag zur Litter atur und zum Vergniigen,^ 
of the Hterary supremacy of Greece and England mentions 
Milton, Pope, and Young, and quotes from the "Conjectures" 
to prove its points. Schmid's "Theorie der Poesie" (1767) 

* HaUe, 1766. Cf. pp. 8, 18; also pp. 22-43. 



17 

expresses the ardent wish that all poets and orators might take 
Young's "Conjectures" to heart and endeavor to become im- 
mortal originals. 

But not ail joined in this admiration of Young and his views. 
Gottsched found some support, especially in the person of J. J, 
Rambach, who, in a Schulprogramm of 1765, attacked the 
contention that the study of the ancients is responsible for the 
lack of original writers in modern times. It is a long-winded 
discussion of some forty-five pages, advocating the study of the 
ancients to cultivate taste and literary genius. Rambach takes 
up Young's principal arguments, point for point, and tries to 
refute them. He says that Young, a thoro master of the 
ancients, was nevertheless a good original, which is contradiction 
enough. 

This attack upon Young was responded to by no less a critic 
than Herder, in a very sharp review that ought to have settled 
the question in Young's favor.^ But it did not have that effect. 
Two years later two writers raise the same question. One, in 
the Gelehrter Mercurius, discusses Young's contention that the 
illustrious examples of the ancients intimidate us and prevent 
us from developing our own powers. Can the ancients not be 
read as a means of developing our taste and inspiring our genius, 
the critic inquires. This review announces Meusel's article 
on the advantages of reading the ancients, a work which 
appeared soon after and carried this criticism of Young still 
further.^ 

But Young's forces received new strength, when, in 1770, 
Cramer's periodical, Der Nordische Aufseher, which had only 
two years before paid the "Night Thoughts" a most eulogistic 
tribute,' expressing a desire to give its readers some selections 
from the "Conjectures," printed an eleven-page resume of the 
work, with lengthy and favorable criticisms. Numerous bibli- 
ographies, works on the theory of poetry, esthetics, criticism, and 
the like, contained reviews of the " Conjectures" up to the end of 
the century, none of which, however, added anything of inter- 
est or importance. One might deserve special mention. The 

* Cf. on Herder, infra, pp. 41—42, 47. 

* "De Veterum Poetarum Interpretatione," 1767. ' Cf. infra, pp. 66, 83-84. 

C 



18 

Englische Blatter, published by Schubart (1794), contains an 
interesting article on the natural inclination of man to imitate. 
The British are the ones, he says, among whom originality has 
prospered best, and yet their writers have found it necessary to 
preach to them on imitation. What shall we say to the good- 
natured German, who scorns his own treasures and is everlast- 
ingly chasing after the tinsel of foreign lands ? The article cites 
Young's saying that altho we are all born originals yet most 
of us die copies, and refers to Young as "der Schopfer der 
Nachtgedanken" ( ! ). The same work. Vol. XII, contains a 
translation, from the Gentleman' s Magazine, of an article on 
original genius and a discussion which recommends originality 
as the only road to lasting fame. 

And yet, in spite of this widespread acquaintance with the 
work, and notwithstanding these numerous discussions and the 
writings of Hamann and Herder, the three German editions of 
1760-1761 did not reach all quarters of Germany. In 1787, a 
person signing himself "C," published a version in Leipzig 
under the title "Ueber den Geist der Ori^malwerke," in the 
very city where, twenty-seven years before, Teubern had pub- 
lished his two editions. "C" thought he had made a new dis- 
covery, as we read in his introduction, and he felt that he ought 
to allow this book by this original genius to speak to the German 
people in their own language. The rendering follows the first 
edition of the spring of 1759, and renders Young's work very 
freely, that being C's theory of a correct translation. This book 
seems to have met the deserved fate of attracting little attention. 
A belated review appeared in the supplement to the Allgemeine 
deutsche Bihliothek (1791) of books that had been overlooked 
upon their appearance. It comments upon C's ignorance of 
the earlier translations and shows that altho his rendering is 
free, it is nevertheless obscure in places. A passage is placed 
in parallel columns with the translation of 1760, to show the 
superiority of the latter. Further, the reviewer accuses the 
anonymous translator of a meager knowledge of English and of 
being unable to write correct German. Here, then, we have the 
last belated prophet of the "Conjectures" in Germany, appear- 
ing almost thirty years too late, thirty years after Hamann and 



19 

Herder had begun their campaign against servile imitation and 
had guided the leading writers of Germany into safe paths of 
original production. 



3. The Litleraturbriefe and the Idea of Originality 

(1759-1765) 

In the fifty-eighth " Brief" Nicolai opens the campaign against 
imitation and for the cultivation of original genius, by de- 
nouncing Germany as the home of imitators/ The prevailing 
imitation, he says, is of modern writers ; the young poets do not 
venture so far as to imitate the ancients. Germany has real 
originals, but they are so few in number that one could wish 
that the mediocre talents, so possessed are they by the desire to 
imitate, would at least imitate better, if they can not write in an 
original manner. The same critic, the next year,^ expresses 
himself a little more definitely in favor of original genius, when 
he says that genius to become sublime must be able to control 
itself, must not lose its rudder in the storm of passions; and 
that improvement thru criticism and revision is laudable 
in the works of a genius,' — thus admitting that even genius 
can profit by learning, as Young says.* 

In the year of their appearance. Young's ideas on original 
composition seem also to have made themselves felt in Men- 
delssohn's objection ^ to Sulzer's statement that no one should 
venture to be an original, who has not read the ancient Latin 
and Greek writers. Mendelssohn is surprised at such an opinion 
and avers that the observation of this rule would have robbed us 
of all the works of Shakspere. "Genius," he says, "can com- 
pensate for the lack of rules, but nothing can compensate for 
the lack of genius." This clearly is a repetition of Young, who 

* 1759, pp. 207-209. 

^ Cf. the 92d "Brief," p. 220, 1760. 
^ Cf. ibid., p. 222. 

* Cf. " Complete Works," edited by Doran. London, 1854. Vol. II, p. 560. 
' Cf. the 60th "Brief," p. 222, 1759. It is also worthy of note that Young's 

essay on Lyric Poetry (1728) was translated into German in 1759. This con- 
tains Young's ideas on originality in the germ. Cf. Bibliography, injra, 1759. 



20 

says : "To neglect of learning, genius sometimes owes its greater 
glory. . . . Genius can set us right in composition without the 
rules of the learned ; . . . singly, as writers, can sometimes make 
us great." * 

The supremacy of genius is further proclaimed in the two 
hundred and fifty-fourth " Brief," ^ where to this very superi- 
ority to rules is attributed the cause of the erratic flights and falls 
of genius, writing "now for angels and now for children." 
Like Young, the critic remarks that the more genius one has, the 
further one may wander away from the beaten path ; but un- 
fortunately, he continues, this desire to go one's own way, in 
order to become an original, has misled some of the best talents 
into woful errors. And, speaking of the genius of the ancients, 
Mendelssohn ^ uses a comparison that later appears in Herde"r.* 
He says, namely, that the ancients seemed to lack a word for 
Genie, but so much is certain, they showed more genius than the 
modern critics who constantly have the word on their tongues. 

In the last year of the Litteraturhrieje Mendelssohn writes: 
with taste, judgment, and criticism one may become a really 
good poet, but not on that account a poetical genius. He ranks 
genius above mere taste, judgment, and criticism in poetry, 
altho he admits that these qualities can produce excellence 
in prose.^ Further, he shows that the "Conjectures" were 
fresh in his mind, when he writes, "And so an Addison can 
produce really good poems without poetical genius and be 
excellent in prose writings." " 

Finally, Resewitz takes up the discussion of genius with the 
sarcastic remark that there must be an abundance of genius 
among the Germans, judging by the amount of talk on that 
subject.' He corroborates Baumgarten's definition of genius 
as the skill in man to accomplish certain things with exceptional 

' " Complete Works," edited by Doran. Vol. II, pp. 556-558. 

' 1762, p. 173. 

' Cf. the 92d " Brief," p. 211, 1760. 

* Cf. infra, p. 56. 

' Cf. Young: "There is something in poetry beyond prose reason," etc. 
** Complete Works," edited by Doran. Vol. II, p. 557. 

' Cf. the 312th "Brief," p. 138, 1765; also Young's "Complete Works," 
Vol. II, pp. 575 5. ' Cf. the 317th "Brief," p. 21, 1765. 



21 

success.^ Only great geniuses work their way up thru false 
conditions, he says, whereas mediocre geniuses succumb. And 
later, in the same " Brief," ^ he says, hke Young: A genius 
strikes into new, untrodden paths and shows thru new ex- 
amples that there are more roads than those already prescribed ; 
but a genius must not depart from the rules that are exacted by 
the nature of the material treated. There are rules that are 
capricious and indefinite, and to these genius does not confine 
itself, unless it limits their application thru the new turn it 
gives to them. There are rules that are, to be sure, vaUd ; but 
they are deduced from the method of individual geniuses and are 
forced upon all geniuses as universal, necessary rules. Common 
geniuses subject themselves to this yoke, but geniuses who are 
conscious of their own powers supersede these rules and show 
the philosophical lawgiver that these limitations must be ex- 
tended, if his authority is to remain valid. But the imagination 
of the genius must be combined with observation of rules that 
arise from the exigencies of the case, or else the genius will go 
astray. If Shakspere had observed this regularity in his 
tragedies, he would have become even greater. He admits 
nevertheless, as Young does, that the anxious observance of 
rules weakens the ardor of genius and even kills it, but he does 
not overthrow rules entirely, as Young is inclined to do, and as 
Hamann and Herder advocated later; and yet he admits that 
the vivid imagination of a well-balanced genius maintains its 
equilibrium, unconscious of its rules. 

Scarcely had the Litter aturhrkje ceased to appear (1765), 
when two other critics, realizing that there was still much to be 
done, commenced to publish their views on the state of German 
letters for the purpose of reform. It is very evident from the 
preceding sketch that the Litteraturbrieje reckoned with Young's 
"Conjectures" in their own critical work, but these critics are 
the forerunners of the GeniekuU in Germany rather than its 
Messiahs. Their work was that of the iconoclast : they shat- 
tered the idols of the past and showed what was wrong, but it 
was left for the future critics to advocate what was right. 

^ Cf. ibid., p. 22; also Young, I.e. pp. 556-558. ' Cf. ibid., pp. 50-51. 



22 

Herder felt himself to be this Messiah, and at once began his 
fragments "Ueber die Neuere Deutsche Litteratur" (1767)/ 
In the introduction he refers to the Litleralurbriefe, when he 
says mere scolding and fault-finding will not reform German 
literature, that a practical example is necessary. This he found 
in Young's "Conjectures," and from that time on the ideas of 
Young were taken as the watchword of the reform promulgated 
by Hamann and Herder, the principal figures in this movement, 
and the doctrine of originaUty was able to gain the hearing that 
it deserved. But before we consider in detail the merits of 
Hamann and Herder in the reform of German letters, we must 
sketch the preliminary endeavors of the other critics who con- 
tinued the work begun by the Lilteralurbriefe. Shortly before 
Herder's " Fragmente" began to appear, another series of articles 
attracted the attention of men of letters, — Briefe iiher Merk- 
wurdigkeiten der Litteratur, usually called the Schleswigsche 
Litteraturbrieje, from the place of publication. The author was 
the rising young poet and critic, Gerstenberg. 

4. Heinrich Wilhelm von Gerstenberg (i 737-1823) and 
THE Schleswigsche Litteraturbrieje (1766) 

Gerstenberg, follower of J. A. Schlegel and pupil of Hamann, 
was in thoro sympathy with the views of original genius and 
individuahsm as outhned in the "Conjectures." His acquaint- 
ance with Young's works is attested by the comparison of the 
"Revenge" with Shakspere's "Othello," and the claim of 
influence of Young's "Night Thoughts" upon the Danish poet 
TuUin.^ His early reviews in the Bibliothek der schonen Wis- 
senschajten und der jreyen Kilnste reveal a reasonable attitude 
toward the ancients, when he says, writing of the drama, that 
the ancients portray life according to their times and customs; 
their works are the most beautiful copies of nature, but of an 
antiquated nature that can affect us only as critics.^ This 

1 Herder himself called them " Eine Beilage zu den Briefen, die neueste 
Litteratur betreffend," on the title-page. 

' Cf. infra, pp. 24, 97. 

^ Cf. the review of Lessing's "Philotas." Bibliothek der schonen Wissen- 
schajten und der jreyen Kiinste. Vol. V, ii, p. 313. 



23 

J. A. Schlegel had already said,* and Herder later repeated.^ 
In the same volume Gerstenberg says regarding the rules laid 
down for the idyll, "Real genius often has no law but itself; 
if it is accompanied by taste and knowledge, however, it can 
always find means of becoming reconciled with sound criticism."^ 
In the great stress laid upon the superiority of genius, one is 
inclined to see an echo of the watchword of the " Conjectures." ^ 

The next critical work of Gerstenberg, the moral weekly Der 
Hypochondrist,^ shows him a disciple of Hamann, in that he 
sees the true essence of original genius in a certain obscurity;^ 
and, in the introduction to his translation of Beaumont and 
Fletcher's "Bride," ^ Gerstenberg follows Young and Home,^ 
when he says it is ridiculous to demand of an author the observa- 
tion of rules that do not apply to him and his purposes.® 

But to come to Gerstenberg's principal work as critic, the 
Schleswigsche Litteraturbrieje. Here, too, we find him, in style, 
conception of genius, and hostile attitude toward the ancients, 
under the influence of Young and the latter's disciple, Hamann. 
The conditions that he is trying to improve Gerstenberg sums 
up, when he deplores the fact that genius finds few admirers 
among the Germans, who even feel according to rules, not be- 
cause their feelings are so regular, but because it would cost too 
much effort to be original.*" 

The purpose of comparing the moderns with the ancients and 
of opposing them to each other, taking Shakspere as a criterion, 

* Cf. Alex, von Weilen, in " Deutsche Litteraturdenkmale." Vol. XXX, 
p. xviii. Cf. also supra, p. 14. 

* Cf. infra, p. 45—48. 

' Cf. Bibliothek der sch'onen Wissenschaften und der jreyen Kiinste. Vol. V, 
ii, p. 319. 

* It is not impossible that the "Conjectures," published March, 1759, had 
found their way into Gerstenberg's hands during the summer. Cf. supra, 
p. 15, on Mendelssohn, p. 19. 

* Published in Schjeswig, 1763. 

' Cf. Alex, von Weilen, I.e. Vol. XXX, p. xxvi. 
' December, 1764. 

* "Elements of Criticism," 1760. Translated by J. N. Meinhardt, 1763- 
1766. Cf. also, supra, p. 13. 

* " Schreiben an Herrn Weisse," p. 9. Cf. Alex, von Weilen, I.e. p. xxx. 

*" Cf. the Schlsswigsehe Litteraturbrieje, in " Deutsche Litteraturdenkmale." 
Vol. XXIX, p. 16. 



24 

is clearly seen thruout the work. Carrying out Young's 
own principle, not to compare Shakspere with Sophocles, 
Gerstenberg measures him by his imitators; and so Young's 
own tragedy, "The Revenge," was submitted to the test and 
was used to prove the superiority of its model, "Othello."^ 
Altho Gerstenberg evidently accepts the classification of dra- 
matic composition in the noted rehearsal scene in "Hamlet,"^ 
and thus tries to show that Shakspere's tragedies have certain 
principles in common with the Greek tragedies, in the essay 
"Etwas uber Shakespeare" (1766), rescinding that very classi- 
fication, he exclaims: "Away with the classification of mere 
names! Name what Shakspere wrote ... as you will. I 
call his dramas living pictures of ethics from the hand of a 
Raphael." ' 

In 1764, Gerstenberg had already pronounced it ridiculous to 
judge a work by the rules of another.^ In the Schleswigsche 
Litteraturhrieje we find the same theme treated more extensively 
and more clearly defined. Ariosto has been unjustly criticised, 
Gerstenberg insists, according to rules to which he was not sub- 
ject; for as a matter of fact, he treated the most interesting 
material of his times as Homer had done in his, drawing natural 
pictures. Both are on a par.^ Later, he returns to the same 
theme in discussing Warton's criticism of Spenser, and, after 
advising critics to become acquainted with the times in which 
the writer under consideration lived and wrote, he says: "We 
live in the days of criticism, when every one writes according to 
rules, and so we are too much inclined to judge every composi- 
tion by the rules that our tutors have recommended as the only 
criteria of perfection. Critical taste is spread broadcast, and 
we demand in the works of modern writers the observation of 
rules, even where they were not intended to apply." ® And 
turning this principle upon the English, he advises them to 
cultivate their national feeling in criticism, also, and to abandon 

' Cf. injra, pp. 125-126. 
^ Cf. Act II, Scene II. 

' Cf. Gerstenberg's "Vermischte Schriften." Altona, 1816. Vol. Ill, pp. 
268-269. 

* Cf. supra, p. 23. 1 

^ Cf. Schleswigsche Litteraturhrieje, I.e. p. 19. " Cf. ibid., p. 41. 



25 

the prevailing method of using as criteria the leading French 
writers, who wrote for the French and not for English conditions 
and taste/ 

Like Young, Gerstenberg considers genius a quality inherent 
within us,^ and places it above mere invention and novelty, in 
the following words: "Where there is genius we find invention 
and novelty, and there is the original ; but not vice versa." ^ 
He had before drawn the distinction between originals and 
imitations, showing his preference for the former, when, con- 
sidering the natural beauties of Sophocles, he pronounced them 
superior to the best imitations that Corneille was able to create 
after them. "The latter shows the artist, the former the Greek. 
We can all be artists, but how rare a Greek !"^ 

In the third part of the Schleswigsche Litter aturhrieje, Gersten- 
berg again takes up the question of genius and states his views 
at some length.^ Here he again gives it a position above learn- 
ing, like Young, and calls it the inborn power that animates 
everything: imagination is not genius, but its indispensable 
concomitant. He declares that he honors the ancients, but will 
not allow himself to be so prejudiced by their genius that he can 
not recognize modern genius merely because it appears in a 
new garb.^ He honors and admires the ancients inexpressibly, 
as well as the master hand that can imitate their perfections ; but 
the rare exalted mind that is bold enough to become an original, 
who desires the praise of his nation to be due to his own inner 
worth and not to comparison with others, he alone is worthy of 
real admiration and is to him (Gerstenberg) what the ancients 
have been to the past. The faults of such modern geniuses are 
as pardonable as those of the ancients.^ 

Gerstenberg is, then, a champion of originality, an admirer 
and advocate of modern genius. In giving Shakspere first 
rank among the exemplars of this genius, and in recommending 
the great dramatist's method of original study and portrayal of 

1 Cf. ibid., pp. 43-44- 

^ Cf . ibid., p. 3 ; also Young's " Complete Works," edited by Doran. Vol. II, 

PP- 556-557- 

^ Cf. Schleswigsche Litteraturbriefe, I.e. p. 228. ' Cf. ibid., pp. 215 ff. 

* Cf. ibid., p. 15. * Cf. ibid., p. 45. 



26 

nature based upon individual observation, Gerstenberg was a 
follower of Young's " Conjectures" and became a very important 
factor in the further development of the serious struggle for the 
advancement of German letters along the lines of individuality 
and originality. 

5. The Idea of Originality in the " Hamburgische 
Dramaturgie" (i 767-1 768) 

What Lessing says of Shakspere in the seventy-third "Stiick" 
of the "Hamburgische Dramaturgie" voices Young's require- 
ment that later writers imitate not Shakspere but Shakspere's 
method. Lessing says: "Shakspere must be studied, not plun- 
dered. If we have genius, Shakspere must be to us what the 
camera obscura is to the landscape painter. Let him gaze intently 
and industriously into it to learn how nature in all her aspects is 
projected upon one plane ; but he must borrow nothing from it." ^ 

Young said: "Learning, destitute of this superior aid (the 
divine quality of genius), is fond and proud of what has cost it 
much pains ; is a great lover of rules and boaster of famed ex- 
amples. As beauties less perfect, who owe half their charms 
to cautious art, learning inveighs against natural unstudied 
graces and small harmless inaccuracies, and sets rigid bounds 
to that liberty to which genius often owes its supreme glory, 
but the no-genius its frequent ruin. For unprescribed beauties 
and unexampled excellence, which are characteristic of genius, 
he without the pale of learning's authorities and laws; which 
pale genius must leap to come at them; but by that leap, if 
genius is wanting, ... we lose that little credit which possibly 
we might have enjoyed before." ^ Likewise, Lessing says, " Das 
Genie liebt Einfalt, der Witz, Verwicklung." ^ 

Like Young, Lessing gives to genius a rank superior to learn- 
ing and acquired knowledge and skill in all things, and su- 

' "Hamburgische Dramaturgie." Cf. Lachmann-Muncker edition. Vol. 
X, p. 95. 

' "Complete Works," edited by Doran. Vol. II, pp. 556-557. 

' "Hamburgische Dramaturgie," 30th "Stiick." Lachmann-Muncker edi- 
tion. Vol. IX, p. 309. Cf. also on Hamann, infra, p. 34. 



27 

perior to the rules that usually are observed as a guide; for 
example, "Genius laughs at all the demarcations of the critic," ^ 
and "A fortunate genius has great power over his people."^ 
But Lessing is not in sympathy with the school of German 
critics (and he probably refers to Gerstenberg, Herder, and Ha- 
mann) who cry, Away from rules : they weaken and limit genius. 
He writes: "We have a race of modern critics, whose best 
criticism consists in their ability to make all criticism suspicious. 
' Genius ! Genius ! ' they cry. ' Genius transports itself above 
and beyond all rules ! What genius creates is law ! ' Thus 
they flatter genius, I believe, in order that they themselves may 
be considered geniuses by us. But they betray too clearly the 
fact that they have not one spark of genius within them when 
they add in one and the same breath, * rules crush genius ! ' — 
As if genius would allow itself to be crushed by anything in the 
world ! And especially by something which, as they themselves 
admit, has been derived from genius itself. Not every critic is 
a genius ; but every genius is a born critic. He has the criterion 
of all rules within him. He comprehends and preserves and 
follows only those which express his feelings in words. And 
these feelings expressed in words are able to restrict his prod- 
uctivity? ... To contend that rules and criticism can op- 
press genius,^ is merely claiming, in other words, that examples 
and practice are able to oppress genius ; that genius must have 
recourse not only to itself, but can not advance beyond its first 
attempt." * 

Again, he occupies an attitude opposed to Young and his 
German disciples, when he insists that rules are necessary at 
all events. "Dramas that do not observe classical rules can 
nevertheless observe some rules, and must observe them, if they 
vdsh to find favor." ^ And at the close of the " Dramaturgic," 
Lessing expresses the same antipathy toward those who wish 

' Cf. ibid., 7th "Stiick," p. 210. 

* Cf. ibid., 14th "Stuck," p. 240. 

' This had been asserted in the 204th " Litteraturbrief." Cf. also " Ham- 
burgische Dramaturgie," ioist-io4th "Stiick," pp. 209-210; Lachmann- 
Muncker edition, Vol. X. 

* " Hamburgische Dramaturgie." Cf. I.e. p. 90, 96th " Stiick." 
' C£. ibid., 69th " Stiick." Vol. X, p. 76. 



28 

to dispense with criticism because it, too, crushes genius. He is 
not a poet, he claims; what rank he has as such, he owes to 
criticism. "Therefore," he continues, "I always have felt dis- 
graced or angry when I read or heard anything to the disad- 
vantage of criticism. Criticism is said to suffocate genius,^ 
and I flattered myself that I had learned something from criti- 
cism, something that approaches genius closely. I am a lame 
man whom no lampoon against the crutch can possibly edify." ^ 
He admits that the crutch can help a lame man from one place 
to the other; but still, he contends, it can not make him a run- 
ner; and so criticism has its limits in literature.^ 

Thus Lessing, in his " Hamburgische Dramaturgic," is far in 
advance of the growing Geniekult. Having seen the dangers 
of the extreme tendencies of the unbridled enthusiasm for 
original genius, he warns against the absolute overthrow of 
rules. While placing genius above rules, he nevertheless seeks 
to restrain lawless genius, and thus he becomes the prophet of 
the coming reaction against the Storm and Stress, clinging, as 
he does, to the position to which the unbridled enthusiasm of 
the Storm and Stress had to return, before a literature could be 
created worthy of the first rank. 

After the " Hamburgische Dramaturgic " Lessing lost inter- 
est in the stage, and so the Storm and Stress, having no guide 
for its caprices, had to run the gamut of extravagances and 
learn by experience what it otherwise could have avoided with 
Lessing's fatherly, mature, and safe criticism. 

6. JOHANN GeORG HaMANN (173O-1788) 

Hamann's residence in London, altho in an uncertain 
commercial capacity,* prepared the way for his future English 

^ This had been asserted in the 204th " Litteraturbrief. " Cf. also " Ham- 
burgische Dramaturgic," ioist-i04th " Stiick," pp. 209-210; Lachmann- 
Muncker edition, Vol. X. 

' Cf. Young: "Rules, like crutches, are a needful aid to the lame, tho an 
impediment to the strong." "Complete Works," edited by Doran. Vol. II, 

P- 557- 

^ "Hamburgische Dramaturgie." ioi-io4th "Stuck." Cf., I.e. Vol. X, 
pp. 209-210. 

* From April 18, 1757, to June, 1758, in secret commission for the business 
house of his friend Berens of Riga. 



29 

studies and his consequent deep interest in English writers. 
His unsettled and for a time wayward life during that period 
naturally did not lead him into the circle of the author of the 
"Night Thoughts," and it was not until his return to the Chris- 
tian precepts of his early home training that Young could 
interest him deeply. He knew some English before his visit 
to London and he had become acquainted with the "Night 
Thoughts" in the early fifties, as is proved by his eulogy of 
his deceased mother, which bears Young's name and a verse 
from the "Night Thoughts" on the title-page, and shows 
clearly the influence of that poem.^ 

Hamann regarded his spiritual and moral rescue as a special 
dispensation of providence, and, having returned to the straight 
and narrow path, he became a religious zealot and an ardent 
disciple of Young's religious muse, so that he wrote later in 
life: "Recently I had occasion to run thru Young quite 
unexpectedly ; then it seemed to me as if all my hypotheses had 
been a mere afterbirth of his 'Night Thoughts,' and as if 
all my whims had been impregnated with his metaphors. So 
uncertain am I of myself, that I even doubt whether my thoughts 
have not been supposititious changelings. At all events, Young 
was at that time newer and fresher in my memory than now. 
Can it be that I did not even notice my own thefts? I have 
never been ashamed to confess the truth." ^ 

Three years after his return from London we find him read- 
ing "his EngUshmen" every evening for pastime' and edifica- 
tion.^ About three years later he continues these studies with 
several good friends,^ and ten years after that his friend Pro- 
fessor Kreuzfeld learns English from him. He takes special 
delight in his ability to read and appreciate his favorite EngUsh 
writers in the original, because, as he says, "The Swiss give us 
nothing but the shells of the English and depict nothing but 
the surface." ' 

* "Denkmal." Cf. infra, p. 96. 

' Letter to Herder, Konigsberg, Jan. 17, 1769. Cf. "Hamann's Schriften. 
Herausgegeben von Friedrich Roth." Berlin, 1821-1843. Vol. Ill, p. 393. 
^ Letter to J. G. Lindner, Konigsberg, April 11, 1761. Cf. ibid., p. 76. 

* Letter to G. E. Lindner, Konigsberg, April 29, 1761. Cf. ibid., p. 79. 
' Letter to J. G. Lindner, Konigsberg, May 2, 1764. Cf. ibid., p. 224. 



30 

So much for his intense interest in English literature in gen- 
eral. As we have seen, it was thru the medium of the 
"Night Thoughts," the work that had made Young famous in 
Germany, that Hamann, in common with the rest of his fellow- 
countrymen, became so deeply interested in Young and, there- 
fore, received so eagerly the "Conjectures on Original Compo- 
sition" immediately upon their appearance. But in Hamann's 
case there was a more direct bond, the kinship of letters; he 
recognized in the aged bard of trials and tribulations, in the 
revered preacher of Christian maxims, a second and mutual 
tie ; namely, their common interest in the vital question of genius 
and authorship. 

He says of himself, "You know that in case of necessity 
I like to be my own critic." ^ And, as a matter of fact, few 
authors have expressed themselves more freely and more abun- 
dantly on their own authorship than Hamann. As early as 
1758, before he had made his debut in the world of letters,^ he 
says, writing of his conception of style and poetry, "I gained 
. . . my taste for the latter too late in life and, therefore, find 
it difficult to collect my thoughts and to express them fluently 
both in speaking and in writing." ^ Elsewhere he speaks of 
his obscurity, his laborious (dromedarisch) pen, and of his 
style as mimical and spermologisch. His "Sokratische 
Denkwiirdigkeiten " are couched "in the mystical language 
of a sophist," and he thinks he has treated Socrates "in a 
Socratic manner." * He writes by the sweat of his brow,^ and 
protests thruout his life that he does not want to become an 
author. "My folly always pictured to me a sort of pride and 
sublime vanity, not to study for bread, but according to my 
inclination, for pastime and out of love for the sciences per se, 
on the ground that it were better to be a martyr than a day- 
laborer and hireling of the muses." ** If the public, a wounded 

* Letter to Baron von W., Riga, Sept. 22, 1758. Cf. "Schriften," Vol. 
I, p. 307. 

^ He himself considered the "Sokratische Denkwiirdigkeiten" as the begin- 
ning of his authorship. The work appeared early in the year 1760. 
^ " Lebenslauf ," in "Schriften," Vol. I, p. 157. 

* "Sokratische Denkwiirdigkeiten," in "Schriften," Vol. II, p. 7; also p. 11. 
' Letter to his brother. May, 1760. Cf. "Schriften," Vol. Ill, p. 22. 

* "Lebenslauf," in "Schriften," Vol. I, p. 172; also p. 362. 



officer/ and a good friend wish to be amused in the same man- 
ner, he will never succeed as an author.^ He merely wants to 
serve his years as pupil honestly ; ^ he hates from the bottom of 
his heart the office of both author and critic/ And still he 
drifts involuntarily into authorship, gently resisting and yet 
quietly acquiescing, so that he calls out in despair, " Dost thou 
still cling to thy weakness, dear heart, of becoming a public 
author in large quarto!"^ And as he later in life reviews his 
career, he sees that he has acquired a style that is neither pleas- 
ing to himself nor natural." His entire works amount to noth- 
ing but pitiful criticism, all his scribblings are nothing but 
black on white, mere text, without notes to make them intel- 
ligible, of mere ephemeral importance.^ "My authorship is 
folly. . . ." ^ And as a final judgment he seems to see nothing 
but failure in his literary activity.* 

Still posterity has judged Hamann an original genius, and he, 
in spite of his protests against a literary career, toyed with the 
idea of being an original. " If the vanity of becoming a model 
should tempt mc, I should be the first to laugh at the idea. Noth- 
ing shall frighten me from the duty of being an original. An 
original frightens away imitators and produces models." '*' 
Young says, too, "The pen of an original writer . . . out of 
a barren waste calls a blooming spring." ** 

Of authorship in general he also has much to say. What a 
task it is, and how can one possibly find ambition, vanity, or 

' Possibly an allusion to Lessing who, in the introduction to the Litteratur- 
hrieje, says they were intended for the entertainment of a wounded officer. 
^ Letter to J. G. Lindner, Trutenau, July 20, 1759. Cf. "Schriften," Vol. I, 

p- 423- 

^ Letter to the same, March 29, 1763. Cf. ibid., p. 193. 

* Letter to the same, Feb. 22, 1764. Cf. ibid., p. 217. 

' " Selbstgesprach eines Autors" (1773), in "Schriften," Vol. IV, p. 75. 

« Letter to J. C. Hafeli, Konigsberg, July 2, 1780. Cf. "Schriften," Vol. VI, 
pp. 151-152. 

' Letter to F. Bucholtz, Konigsberg, Sept. 6, 1786. Cf. "Schriften," Vol. 
VII, p. 340. 

* Letter to Herder, Konigsberg, Jan. 28, 1787. Cf. ibid., p. 350. 
9 Cf. "Schriften," Vol. VIII, i, p. 375. 

'" Letter to J. G. Lindner, Konigsberg, March 29, 1763. Cf. "Schriften," 
Vol. Ill, p. 191. 

" "The Complete AVorks, Poetry and Prose, of the Rev. Edward Young, 
LL.D.," etc., edited by John Doran, LL.D. London, 1854, Vol. II, p. 551. 



32 

pleasure in it ; ^ for an author is exposed to the severest tests 
of self-denial.^ Young says, too, "Wit . . . should sacrifice 
its most darling offspring to the sacred interests of virtue and the 
real service of mankind." ^ " One can at all events be a human 
being," says Hamann, "without necessarily being an author. 
But whoever expects good friends to imagine an author who 
is not a human being, is more inchned toward poetical than 
philosophical abstractions."^ "The question involved in 
the criticism of a masterpiece is not at all, has it faults, but 
where do these faults lie and what use is made of them ? Every 
intelligent author knows his faults in advance, but he also 
knows how to assign to them their proper places, where they 
will either blend or produce a contrast like shadows in a paint- 
ing." ^ This sounds Hke an echo of what Young says of Shak- 
spere's faults as compared with the ancients, "Not the fewness 
of their faults, but the number and brightness of their beauties," 
is what we admire in the ancients.^ 

The subjective view that Hamann takes of style seems to 
express the entire doctrine of individuahsm as found in Young. 
"What others call style, is for me soul or ability to judge and 
to digest." ^ 

Young remarks, "Thucydides is said to have formed his 
style on Pindar;"^ likewise Hamann: "Man nennt ihn den 
Pindar der Geschichtschreiber." ^ 

One of Hamann's favorite diversions was to compare trans- 
lations.^" Poetical translations were not to his taste," and he 

^ Letter to his brother, Konigsberg, Jan. 2, 1769. Cf. " Schriften," Vol. 
Ill, p. 3. 

^ Letter to J. G. Lindner, Konigsberg, May 5, 1761. Cf. " Schriften," ibid., 
p. S3. 

' " Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 550. 

* "Aesthetica in Nuce," in "Schriften," Vol. II, p. 267. 

^Letter to J. G. Lindner, Konigsberg, Aug. 23, 1761. Cf. "Schriften," 
Vol. Ill, p. 97. 

« "Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 573. 

^ Letter to Herder, Konigsberg, Oct. 13,1777. Cf."Schriften," Vol. V,p. 257. 

« "Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 579. 

» " Schriften," Vol. II, p. 263. 

'" Letter to SchefiFner, Konigsberg, Dec. 9, 1784. Cf. "Schriften," Vol. 
VII, p. 184. 

" Letter to the same, July i, 1785. Cf. ibid., p. 254; likewise p. 256. 



33 

preferred an exact to a merely noble translation.* Like Young, 
he is opposed to an excessive amount of translation, for it is 
likely to make of a language a net that catches and receives 
good and bad fish of all kinds.^ 

To comprehend fully the intellectual kinship of the tw^o writers, 
one must compare in detail their utterances on the two main 
themes of the "Conjectures on Original Composition," viz., 
Genius and Originality. Almost every thought expressed by 
Hamann on these subjects has its model in Young. 

Hamann says, genius does not depend upon dihgence,^ and 
further, " The honorable title of language master and polyhistor 
is not a sine qua non for him who has the good fortune to 
be endowed with their genius." * Genius, then, is something 
superior to learning and dihgence; it is, as he says elsewhere 
of original works of art, of a divine quahty. Young, we remem- 
ber, calls genius the "master- workman," and says it "is the 
power of accomplishing great things without the means gen- 
erally reputed necessary to that end," "a magician . . . that 
raises his structure by m.eans invisible. . . . Hence genius 
has ever been supposed to partake of something divine." It 
is the god within us.^ 

Hamann says of the relation of genius to rules: "... wer 
keine Ausnahme macht, kann kein Meisterstiick liefern; well 
Regeln vestaHsche Jungfrauen sind, durch die Rom vermit- 
telst Ausnahmen bevolkert werden musste . . . wer ein Schop- 
fer zu werden wiinscht, . . . verhiille sich und seine Muse ! 
Verhiillt und entgiirtet werfen Autor und seine Muse die Knoch- 
en ihrer Mutter hinter sich. Vor waren sie Regeln, die kein 
Saughng verdauen kann, und Stein des Anstosses den alten 
Ahnen; nun sind sie Meisterstiicke, die leben, gottliche Werke 
eurer Hande, die euch nachfolgen werden, weil sie Fiisse haben."' 
Likewise: "Ein Engel fuhr herab zu seiner Zeit und bewegte 
den Teich Bethesda, in dessen fiinf Hallen viel Kranke, Blinde, 

» Letter to J. G. Lindner, Aug. 8, 1759. Cf. " Schriften," Vol. I, p. 466. 

^ "Schriften," Vol. II, p. 126. 

' Cf. ibid., Vol. IV, p. 325. 

* Cf. ibid., Vol. II, p. 124. 

' "Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 556; also p. 557. 

' "Schriften," Vol. II, pp. 405 f. 



34 

Lahme, Durre lagen und warteten, wenn sich das Wasser 
bewegte. — Eben so muss ein Genie sich herablassen Regeln 
zu erschiittem ; sonst bleiben sie Wasser ; und — man muss 
der erste seyn hereinzusteigen, nachdem das Wasser bewegt 
wird, wenn man die Wirkung und Kraft der Regeln selbst 
erleben will." ^ And: *'Horen Sie unterdessen, wie erwecklich 
der Oberpriester und Afterminos zu Lampadouse in seiner 
Biirgergemeinde deklamirt : ' O ihr Herolde allgemeiner Regeln ! 
wie wenig versteht ihr die Kunst, und wie wenig besitzt ihr 
von dem Genie, das die Muster hervorgebracht hat, auf welche 
ihr sie baut, und das sie ubertreten kann, so oft es ihm 
beliebt!'"^ 

Young likewise says, "Learning, destitute of this superior 
aid (of genius), is proud of what has cost it much pains, is a 
great lover of rules and boaster of famed examples . . . un- 
prescribed beauties and unexampled excellence, which are 
characteristic of genius, lie without the pale of learning's au- 
thorities and laws ... for rules are a needful aid to the lame, 
though an impediment to the strong." Masterpieces, i.e. 
originals are exceedingly rare, because they must be something 
new; and no matter in what form they appear, they engross 
us, and if they add admiration to surprise, we are at the writer's 
mercy. ^ Hamann says, "A gifted author must either know 
how to exceed his readers' expectations, or how to win his 
readers." ^ Many a great man, says Young, has been lost to 
himself and the public, purely because great ones were before 
him.^ 

In his discussion of Proverbs lo, 19, Hamann says that brev- 
ity is a characteristic of genius, all superfluity is the sin of erudi- 
tion. The most inane works, those most lacking in taste and 
faultiest need fine choice of language to hide their defects.^ 
Likewise Young : "As riches are the most needed where there 
is least virtue, so learning where there is least genius . • . 

^ " Schriften," Vol. II, p. 430; also p. 431. 

^ "Complete Works," Vol. II, pp. 556-557; also pp. 552, 553. 

5 Letter to J. G. Lindner, March 4, 1762. Cf. " Schriften," Vol. Ill, p. 133. 

* " Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 560. 

* " Schriften," Vol. I, p. 103. Cf. Lessing, supra, p. 26. 



35 

genius without learning can give renown. ... To neglect 
of learning genius sometimes owes its greater glory." * 

Similarly discussing the Schuldrama, Hamann says, ''With- 
out self-denial no work of genius is possible, and without 
eschewing the best notes, rules, and laws, no Schuldrama or 
prototype thereof." ^ Young, " Genius can set us right in com- 
position without the rules of the learned . . . singly, . . . (it) 
can sometimes make us great." ^ Again Hamann, "Alle 
grosse Genies scheinen einigermassen jenem fremden Volke 
ahnlich zu seyn, von dem Mose und die Propheten geweissagt, 
dass es * wie ein Adler fliegt und ein Volk von tiefer Sprache ist, 
die man nicht vernehmen kann und von lacherHcher Zunge, die 
man nicht versteht.' " * This is a common figure in Young. 
He speaks of the original genius as carrying us away with him 
"on the strong wing of his imagination,"^ he cites Pindar as 
calling himself the eagle flying above common understanding, 
and sets the paradox, "Genius often deserves most to be 
praised when it is most sure to be condemned, that is, when 
its excellence, from mounting high, to weak eyes is quite out 
of sight." « 

Both Hamann and Young take the same specific examples 
to prove these principles, i.e. among the ancients Homer, who 
cast rules aside; among the moderns Shakspere. Young 
says, if Shakspere had read more, he might have thought less. 
He knew two books, that of nature and that of man.'' Hamann : 
"Was ersetzt bey Homer die Unwissenheit der Kunstregeln, 
die ein Aristoteles nach ihm erdacht, und was bey einem Shak- 
spere die Unwissenheit oder Uebertretung jener kritischen 
Gesetze? Das Genie ist die einmiithige Antwort." * He 
cites further the case of the Apostle Paul. "Festus, too, was 
of the opinion that Paul's extensive reading confused him, and 
attributed his fanatical giddiness to books," ® and even asserts, 
"The less one has learned himself, the more skilled one is 

1 " Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 557. « Cf. ibid., p. 557. 

^ " Schriften," Vol. II, p. 432. ' Cf. ibid., p. 574. 

3 " Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 184. « " Schriften," Vol. II, p. 38. 

* " Schriften," Vol. IV, p. 364. » Cf. ibid., p. 92. 

^ " Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 552. 



36 

to teach others."^ "Socrates," he says, "could well, indeed, 
be unknowing; he had a genius."^ 

Hamann would not have us infer that he considers genius, 
in and of itself, a sufficient guide, even to the neglect of learning. 
"Is, however, the folly of genius rich enough to replace the 
wisdom, which thru the connection of universal truths is 
obvious to the senses? There's the rub." ^ Young, too, after 
expounding the great advantages of genius, "put in a caveat 
against the too great indulgence of genius," viz., "He who 
disregards learning shows that he wants its aid." * And, be- 
ware those "who set up genius, and often mere fancied genius, 
not only above human learning, but divine truth." If geniuses 
are wise, let them not neglect the cultivation and produce of 
their possessions.^ 

Young's division of imitations into two kinds, "one of nature, 
one of authors,"® is also found in Hamann: "Natur und 
Schrift also sind die Materialien des schonen, schaffenden, 
nachahmenden Geistes." ^ "Poesie," he says further, "ist die 
Nachahmung der schonen Natur," ^ and yet he does not 
advise us to imitate everything in nature, but only that which 
will extend the republic of letters, as Young would say, along 
the more beautiful, healthy lines, and which will be of real 
service to mankind.* "In der Natur ist manches unrein und 
gemein fur den Nachahmer — auch alles was mogUch ist, lasst 
euch nicht gelusten!" ^"^ 

Like Young before him, Hamann complains of the lack of 
original production," and like Young, he hates the prevailing 
method of servile imitation. "Es thut mir immer wehe, den 
lacherlichen Nachahmungs-Geist, der immer die schwachsten 
Seiten guter Kopfe verfolgt, ihnen mit seiner Bewunderung 
schadlicher und gefahrlicher zu sehen, als alle Furien des 
Neides, oder ungerechter Critik." *^ 

^ "Schriften," Vol. II, pp. 217 ff. ' "Schriften," Vol. II, pp. 292 ff. 

* Cf. ibid., p. 38. ' Cf. ibid., p. 280. 

3 Cf. ibid., p. 98. ' "Complete Works," Vol. II, pp. 549- 

* " Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 559. 550. 

» Cf. ibid., p. 560. '* "Schriften," Vol. II, p. 197. 

« Cf. ibid., p. 551. '' Cf. ibid., p. 402. 

"Letter to Scheffner, Konigsberg, Sep. 18, 1785. Cf. "Schriften," Vol. 
VII, p. 287. 



37 

Hamann says, man is "among all animals the greatest pan- 
tomime." * Young, too, speaks of the "meddling ape imita- 
tion" that is inherent within us.^ Similar to Young's distinc- 
tion between servile imitation and productive imitation of the 
spirit of one's predecessors, Hamann says, "Nachahmen und 
Nachaffen (ist) nicht einerley." ^ Hamann scores the under- 
rating of oneself and one's own powers, in the following man- 
ner : " Der eines andern Vemunft mehr glaubt als seiner eignen, 
hort auf ein Mensch zu seyn, und hat den ersten Rang unter 
dem servum pecus * der Nachahmer. Auch das grosste mensch- 
liche Genie sollte uns zu schlecht dazu seyn." ^ This is Young's 
maxim. "Such meanness of mind, such prostration of our 
own powers (imitation of others), proceeds from too great 
admiration of others. Admiration has generally a degree of 
two very bad ingredients in it, — of ignorance, and of fear." ' 
To avoid this, and to remind and encourage us to look within 
ourselves, lest the mine of genius hidden there lie undiscovered 
and "we go a-begging with gold in our purse," Young borrows, 
two rules from ethics: "Know thyself," "Reverence thyself." 
These, strange to say, are found in Hamann too. The second 
is voiced by him in the above-quoted passage, whereas the first 
is expressed directly, when he cites in another connection the 
inscription above the door of the famous temple at Delphos, 
"Erkenne dich Selbst!'" 

When Hamann complains, "If they intend to make it as 
difficult for us to be originals as to be copies, what else do 
they intend but to change us into mules?" ^ {i.e. if the 
choice of material and method is to be limited) ; and when 
he says further, "Whoever wishes to deprive the fine arts of 
caprice and imagination, is a quack , . . makes an attack 
upon their honor and life like a cut-throat, ..." * he is merely 

' " Schriften," Vol. IV, p. 42. In discussing the beginnings of a child' s^ 
training, he says: "Weil wir alle zum Nachahmen geboren sind, besonders die 
Natur nachzuahmen." Cf. " Schriften," Vol. I, p. 162. 

^ "Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 561. 

^ Letter to his brother, Konigsberg, Feb. 12, 1760. Cf. "Schriften," Vol. 
I, p. II. « "Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 565. 

* An expression taken from Horace. ' " Schriften," Vol. II, p, 30. 

' Letter to Kant, Konigsberg, July 27, ' Cf. ibid., p. 197. 
1759. Cf. "Schriften," Vol. I, p. 438. ' Cf. ibid., pp. 401-402. 



38 

taking up ardently the cause of the emancipation of genius, the 
rights of the individual and the promulgation of originality 
as acclaimed by Young. 

Hamann's attitude toward the ancients is very similar to 
Young's. In speaking of an edition of Euripides, he calls it 
good enough for him, it detains him less in his work, "since," 
as he says, "I follow up only the spirit of the ancients, and the 
genius of the Greek language is of more importance to me than 
its grammar." ^ This is exactly what Young advises, viz., 
that in reading the ancients we should pursue not their ma- 
terial but their spirit and taste.^ This Hamann expresses very 
decidedly and with great emphasis, when he narrows it down 
to the specific examples of Bodmer and Klopstock. They have 
imitated Homer only in detail. "Homer," he says, "will 
always remain the only epic poet for my taste. . . . To feel 
Homer is not within the power of every one : aye, to understand 
Homer . . . must one not do that, if one wishes to imitate 
him? To imitate is in the fine arts to surpass."^ "Bodmer 
and Klopstock both studied Homer, but did not know how to 
imitate him except in details." * 

Young, as is to be expected of a theologian, goes beyond the 
Greek and Latin classics in his discussion and cites the sources 
of wisdom as revealed in the Scriptures.^ He says the Bible 

» " Schriften," Vol. U, p. 213. 

* " Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 555. 

' Letter to Lindner, Konigsberg, Aug. 28, 1761. Cf. "Schriften," Vol. Ill, 
p. 109. 

This is the finest expression found in Hamann of the correct method and 
purpose of imitation, i.e. make full use of one's predecessors and of one's own 
genius, and thus surpass one's models. It is the very essence of Young's " Con- 
jectures." It is interesting to note in this connection, that Hamann insists that 
one must read the classics of all nations, " mit und in dem Geist ihrer Verfasser." 
(" Schriften," Vol. IV, p. 261.) Further, one should in reading use his imagina- 
tion to try to have the same feelings that the author he is reading had when he 
wrote. (" Schriften," Vol. I, p. 54.) And finally : " Zum Urtheilen gehort dass 
man jeden nach seinen Grundsatzen priift und sich selbst an die Stelle des 
Autors setzen kann." ("Schriften," Vol. Ill, p. 116.) These thoughts had 
already been expressed by Pope, cf. supra, p. 13. Cf. further, Gerstenberg, 
supra, pp. 23, 24. Cf. also Herder, infra, p. 42. 

* Letter to his brother, Konigsberg, Jan. 9, 1760. Cf. ibid., p. 6. 

' This phase of the discussion was introduced by the appearance, in 1753, of 
Robert Lowth's "De Sacra Poesi Hebraeorum." 



39 

is the only book "that can justify our implicit acquiescence in 
it." * So Hamann : " Gerade, als wenn unser Lemen ein 
blosses Erinnern ware, weist man uns immer auf die Denkmale 
der Alten, den Geist durch das Gedachtniss zu bilden. Warum 
bleibt man aber bey den durchlocherten Brunnen der Griechen 
stehen, und verlasst die lebendigsten Quellen des Alterthumes? 
Wir Wissen vielleicht selbst nicht recht, was wir in den Griechen 
und Romem bis zur Abgotterey bewundem. . . . Gleich einem 
Manne, der sein Keblich Angesicht im Spiegel beschaut, nachdem 
er sich beschaut hat, von Stund an davon geht und vergisst, wie 
er gestaltet war; eben so gehen wir mit den Alten um." ^ 

Hamann admits that the ancients have made it hard for us to 
be originals, but he says, " I am not, however, as bad as Donatus 
who wished all sorts of misfortune to the ancients, who take the 
very word out of our mouths." ^ 

When Hamann says of Homer, "Even he is said to have been 
a fortunate compiler, according to the opinion of the best critics,"* 
he may refer to the discussion of the authorship of Homer or 
he may even be echoing Young's theory of accidental originals.^ 

Hamann did not merely preach Young's ideas; he strove to 
follow them out in his own original essays. One of the clearest, 
avowed cases of this is found in the postscript to his complaint 
on church music.® Here he cites Young's paradox in the fol- 
lowing manner : " Young giebt . . . das Rathsel auf, die Alten 
also nachzuahmen, dass wir uns von ihrer Aehnlichkeit, je mehr 
je besser, entfemen," and then he goes on to say that he has 
written this " Klagegedicht " in this "paradoxical" imitation of 
the " Epitre a Uranie" and the " Sendschreiben eines Materia- 
listen an Doris." ^ 

' "Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 558. 
' " Schriften," Vol. II, pp. 288-289. 

' Letter to Lindner, Konigsberg, May 7, 1762. Cf. "Schriften," Vol. Ill, 
pp. 152 ff. 

* Letter to his brother, Konigsberg, January, 1760. Cf. ibid., p. ro. 
' "Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 553. 

• " Klagegedicht in Gestalt eines Sendschreibens iiber die Kirchenmusik ; aa 
ein geistreiches Frauenzimmer ausser Landes" (1762). Cf. "Schriften," Vol. II, 
pp. 161-172. 

^ " Nachricht fur Leser, die Verstand haben, denen folglich mit Verstand 
gedient werden muss." Cf. "Schriften," Vol. II, pp. 173-174. 



40 

Finally, the best example of Young's influence upon Hamann 
in point of choice of material, style, and purpose is found in the 
articles entitled " Schriftsteller und Kunstrichter " ^ and "Leser 
und Kunstrichter." * Here we find an ardent plea for taste in 
reading, judgment in criticising, and originaHty in writing — 
one loud cr>' for individualism, pervaded with Young's spirit. 
It is the clearest and most direct production of Hamann's 
genius. 

Hamann, then, in his views on originality and individualism, 
owes the greater part of his material to Young. His own opinion 
that nearly all his ideas were taken from the "Night Thoughts" 
would read more correctly if he had said they were taken from 
the "Conjectures"; for upon examination there are few 
passages that can be said to come unmistakably from the 
"Night Thoughts." Both writers treated Biblical themes and 
they therefore had many points in common, from common 
sources. 

Hamann stands entirely upon the plane of the " Conjectures " ; 
he theorizes and suggests modes of procedure, but progresses no 
further, except for a few slight attempts to exemplify his ideas. 
His work is in general terms, and it needed Herder to take up 
these doctrines, to apply them to German literary conditions, 
and thus to pass from Hamann the prophet of originality to 
Herder the prophet, teacher, and promoter of a national, original 
literature. 

7. JoHANN Gottfried Herder (1744-1803) 

If in Hamann the direct influence of the "Conjectures" is so 
unmistakable and abundant, it would be a surprise not to find a 
similar influence of Young's doctrine of original genius and 
individualism in Herder's works ; for Herder, as the friend and 
disciple of the Magus im Norden, thus drew inspiration from a 
double source. And if it is not always possible to determine to 
which source the influence is to be traced, it really matters 
little; for both proclaim the emancipation of genius and the 
supremacy of individualism ; both issue from the same fountain 

' "Schriften," Vol. II, pp. 377-394. 1762. * Cf. x6«^., pp. 395-412- 1762. 



41 

head and feed the same current in eighteenth-century critical 
thought. 

Be that as it may, Herder's works furnish ample proof of his 
intimate acquaintance with the "Conjectures" and of his 
admiration for their author. Altho only a youth of sixteen 
when the "Conjectures" appeared in Germany, Herder had in 
all probability already become acquainted with the "Night 
Thoughts"; for it would be strange if so popular a work had 
not found its way into the hands of this insatiable devourer of 
books. At least, Herder's reviews and criticisms, as well as his 
longer works, often cite the "Night Thoughts" in a manner 
that suggests a thoro knowledge and deep appreciation of 
them. He translates from them, uses them as examples, and 
publishes parts of a translation by another.^ 

The "Conjectures" occupied him early, at all events, whether 
he was led to them thru the "Night Thoughts" or not; and 
as if in preparation for his life's work of criticism and the re- 
juvenation of German literature, along the lines laid down by 
Young, Herder made extensive extracts from the "Conjectures" 
in his note book.^ It is not surprising, therefore, to find him 
breaking a lance for his champion soon after in a cutting review 
of Rector Rambach, who, either wilfully or ignorantly mis- 
understanding and misinterpreting Young's attitude, pubhshed 
a Schulprogramm entitled "Schreiben iiber die Frage: ob das 
Lesen der Alten an dem Mangel der Original-Scribenten 
Schuld sey." In this Rambach takes issue with Young's claims 
that the reading of the ancients and admiration for them en- 
grosses and intimidates us and thus Hmits our own productive- 
ness. Herder writes in criticism : " Great Young has suffered 
the same fate before, of having some of his bold utterances 
severed from the rest, dissected and discussed, corroborated 
or refuted, according to the critics' caprice. When a genius 
mounts to sublime heights in his original thoughts, the spirits 
on the plain below lose sight of him or see him in dwarfed pro- 
portions upon his pinnacle. . . . He (Young) often developed 

* Cf. infra, p. io8. 

' " Herder nach seinem Leben und seinen Werken dargestellt von R. Haym." 
Berlin, 1877-1885. Vol. I, p. 149. 



42 

the chain of his bold thoughts to a degree that seems a 
paradox to us weaker intellects." * 

This is indeed sufficiently ardent admiration to show Herder's 
attitude toward the author of the "Conjectures," and it is in- 
teresting to note that in extolling his genius Herder uses Young's 
own words on the flights of original genius, as found in his second 
paradox: "Genius often then deserves most to be praised, when 
it is most sure to be condemned; that is, when its excellence, 
from mounting high, to weak eyes is quite out of sight." ^ 

Herder disapproves entirely of Rambach's attitude and says, 
whoever is inclined to be on Young's side at the beginning of 
the article, will surely be so at the end. Further, he says, to do 
justice to a genius like Young is hardly within the scope of a mere 
Schulprogramm. Later, discussing the reading and imitation of 
the ancients. Herder draws from the "Conjectures" and in a 
footnote again cites Rambach's formidable article against 
"good" Young.^ 

In the second of the "Kritische Walder" Herder says of 
Young's eulogy on Addison, "I honor the late Young in this 
testimonial of .him." * Likewise, Herder's criticism of Swift 
makes reference to the " Conjectures," but this time at variance 
with them; for in the fourth of the "Kritische Walder" he re- 
marks, "Who would join with the immortal night-watchman^ 
Young, when he complains because Swift's Houyhnhnms are 
not pious hermits? Let each one be what he is:" * thus apply- 
ing Young's principle of appreciation to Swift better than 
Young himself. Indeed, even as late as 1801, Herder returns 

' The review appeared in the Konigsbergsche Gelehrte und Politische Zeit- 
ungen. Cf. "Herders Sammtliche Werke. Herausgegeben von Bernhard 
Suphan." Berlin, 1877 to date. Vol. I, pp. 1 21-123. ^^^ Rambach's article, 
cf. infra, Bibliography, 1765; also supra, p. 17. 

' "The Complete Works, Poetry and Prose, of the Rev. Edward Young, 
LL.D.," etc., by John Doran, LL.D. London, 1854. Vol. II, p. 557. 

' "Ueber die neuere Deutsche Litteratur. Fragmente," etc. " Dritte 
Sammlung." Riga, 1767. Cf. "Werke," Vol. I, p. 383. 

*" Werke," Vol. Ill, p. 304; also Young's "Complete Works," Vol. II, 
pp. 580-584. 

° "Nachtwachter"; in the first edition " Nachtwacher." 

« "Werke," Vol. IV, p. 190; also Young's "Complete Works," Vol. II, 
pp. 567-568. 



43 

to Young's tirade against Swift and calls it insipid and un- 
true.^ 

uln his work on Hebrew Poetry, Herder also applies Young's 
first paradox to the imitation of the Psalms of David, in the 
following words : "And here too Young's rule should be appUed, 
that one often resembles the ancients most, when one seems to 
depart furthest from them." ^ And it is very significant that 
even as late as 1800, Herder remembers and applies this paradox. 
In the introduction to the "Kalligone," after discussing the case 
of a young man who tried to overcome certain peculiarities that 
he had taken from his old professor, and who never felt freer 
and further from the latter's system than when he modestly 
honored his wisdom and sagacity, Herder says, "Young gives 
similar advice: to imitate the ancients in spirit, by departing 
from them," and then continues with the following indorse- 
ment: "Let whoever will follow this advice; he will thus feel 
himself free, rejuvenated ; he will seem master of his soul, of his 
pen and tongue." ^ 

And so again at the close of his career we find a watchword 
from the work which he so carefully studied * in preparation for 
his journey thru the labyrinthine paths of a life of Uterary 
criticism. Young was fresh in Herder's mind from the begin- 
ning of his literar)' career to its very close ; and a careful study 
of his works proves still further the extent of his indebtedness 
to the "Conjectures." 

Beginning with the theme of imitation, we find that Herder 
did some of his best work in this direction, applying in a practical 
way to German literature the principles of Young, and thus 
passing beyond the realm of speculative thought into the arena 
of a noble, patriotic cause.^ In 1764, he had already said he was 

' "Adrastea," II, 19. "Jonathan Swift. Gegenseite." Cf. "Werke," 
Vol. XXIII, p. 187; also Young's "Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 567. 

' "Vom Geist der Ebraischen Poesie," Zweiter Theil. 1783. X, " Charac- 
tere der Psalmendichter." Cf. "Werke," Vol. XII, p. 235; also Young's 
" Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 555. 

3 "Werke," Vol. XXII, pp. 12-13. 

* Cf. supra, p. 41. 

* Herder sums up the conditions that he is trying to relieve thus : " We are 
working in Germany as if in the confusion of Babel; sects of taste, parties of 
poetry, schools of philosophy, are contending against each other ; no capital and 



44 

glad the Middle Ages were past, when the Germans freed 
themselves from barbarism only to neglect their own language 
and to become imitators of the ancients/ And now, three years 
later, he exerts his forces to carrying on this good work of 
emancipation a step further. Since German national pride, on 
the one hand, decided that Germany must not be inferior to any 
other nation whatsoever in belles lettres; since, on the other 
hand, the imitation craze to transplant to half-German soil all 
that is Oriental, Greek, or British has subsided; and since 
critics have commenced to gain a comprehensive view of the 
present state of German letters, no cry has been louder or more 
frequent, Herder says, than the complaint over the lack of 
originals, of genius, of inventors. The LUteraturhrieje sought 
to point out the way to supply this need. Mere fault-finding, 
repeated complaints, and everlasting precepts will not do it, 
however ; nor can the prevailing attempts to analyze and define 
genius, original power, and invention succeed in arousing genius. 
Why does Young's treatise on original works fill the Germans 
with an ardor that is not felt in reading these analyses of genius. 
Herder exclaims. Because Young's spirit is inherent in it, and 
this spirit speaks from heart to heart, from genius to genius, and 
is transmitted on and on like an electric spark.' Such an ex- 
ample, Herder continues, requires observation ; it is an example 
in and of itself to be followed ; it is the most effective means of 
dissuading fools from their desire to become original geniuses. 
Such great examples alone can change the spirit of a nation; 
but, since it is dangerous to bring down this electric spark from 
heaven like a second Prometheus, and because it is more difficult 
to be an artist than a sophist in art, the safest path is to observe 
the works of others, to encourage and inspire thru them. 

no common interest; no great, universal promoter and universal law-giving 
genius." Cf. "Werke," Vol. I, p. 141. And for this purpose he encourages 
originality and deprecates imitation ; for, he says, " An original writer, with few 
exceptions, is always a national author." Cf. "Werke," Vol. I, p. 402. 

' " Ueber den Fleiss in mehreren gelehrten Sprachen," Gelehrte Beytrage 
zu den Rigisclien Anzeigen aufs Jahr 1764. XXIV. Stiick. Cf. "Werke," Vol. I, 
pp. 6-7. 

^ " Ueber die neuere Deutsche Litteratur. Zwote Sammlung von Fragmen- 
ten." 1767. Einleitung. Cf. "Werke," Vol. I, pp. 254-257. 



45 

And so Herder carries out this comparison of modern German 
imitators of Oriental, i.e. Hebrew, and especially of Greek 
writers in detail, defining the restrictions of such imitations and 
relative faults and merits of each. 

In Chapter I, "Von den Deutsch-Orientalischen Dichtern," 
Herder shows how German poets think they become originals 
by borrowing customs and taste from the Hebrews. Their 
pictures, altho not new, are not only strange pictures, senti- 
ments, and inventions; but, further, they are incongruous; 
conditions are incompatible, and the only way we can copy 
these Orientals is to depict our own nature faithfully as they 
depicted theirs, true to itself. " We are not prevented by poverty, 
but by inconvenience and indolence, from using our treasures 
and preferring, as Caesar says, to be pauper es nostra in aere."^ 

Thus Herder applied in this whole discussion, step by step, 
the principles laid down by Young, and the results are precisely 
those of the "Conjectures." Young insists, we remember, that 
we must not build with the materials of the ancients, but in their 
spirit and taste, i.e. study nature as we find it revealed about us, 
and depict it in the natural manner of the ancients. Young also 
insists that it is not poverty, but ignorance and sloth, that prevents 
us from cultivating the treasures within ourselves, and he like- 
wise quotes from Horace, Caesar's words, Meo sum pauper in 
aere.^ 

The second chapter continues this discussion in a similar but 
less pointed manner. In the third chapter, Herder takes up the 
subject of the homogeneous saga material that is inherent in the 
very nature of every people, and points out the fact that this 
national material has always been the magic source for poets of 
all times and nations. He calls attention to the fact that such 
materials exist on Aryan soil and urges his fellow-countrymen to 
cultivate their own resources, promising them a rich and abun- 
dant harvest. 

Thus Herder again gives to Young's precepts a national bear- 
ing; he appeals to his fellow-countrymen, not as individual 
writers, but as patriotic German authors, as Young had appealed 
to the Britons. He advocates Young's study of nature, but 

* "Werke," Vol. I, pp. 260-261. ^ "Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 552. 



46 

more particularly the study of German nature, and thus lends 
Young's fire to the already glowing flame of desire for national 
genius/ 

The fourth chapter treats in a similar way and with like bear- 
ing the differences and development in religion that therefore 
beset the path of the imitator, with special reference to Klop- 
stock and his school. Following this up in the sixth chapter, in 
reference to the restrictions of imitation due to the differences 
inherent in the natures of languages, he closes with a criticism 
that, he thinks, might justly be appUed, and which might well 
have been uttered by Young: ''The cold, rational Germans 
have tried to follow the flights of this ardent imagination [of the 
Orientals] with wings that nature did not give them." ^ 

Then in the seventh chapter Herder continues, we should not 
imitate miserably; and to rid ourselves of such imitation he 
recommends that we study Oriental poetry as poetry, that we 
learn to interpret and to teach it. We can not translate and 
imitate it until we understand it, and, he says, "The Oriental 
philology that has flourished in our Germany for some time will, 
when it unites with taste, scatter miserable and stupid imitators."^ 

It is interesting to note that here Herder uses bodily Young's 
figure to describe the advent of adult genius : " Aber es tritt ein 
Genie auf aus dem Gehirn des Jupiters!"^ Young: "But a 
genius enters the field like Pallas out of the head of Jove." ^ 

In his treatise on Greek literature," Herder takes up Greek writers 
and pronounces them worthy of imitation, but, he says, "Be- 
fore we imitate them, we must know them," ^ and for this purpose 
a suitable translation is necessary, such as Ebert's of Young, and 
such in fact as we might expect Young himself to ask for. In 
the succeeding chapters there follows an exhaustive discussion to 

' Here we see the first beginnings of Herder's later intense interest in folk- 
poetry, when he, following his own advice as here given, won glory thru his 
promotion of German national poetry. It was this very study and return to 
nature as represented in "Percy's ReHques," and folk-poetry in general, that 
crowded out Young's " Night Thoughts," and thus, by the irony of fate. Young 
became the prophet of his own defeat. 

^ "Werke," Vol. I, p. 273. ^ "Werke," Vol. I, p. 275. 

^ Cf. ibid. 6 » Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 558. 

* " Von der Griechischen Litteratur in Deutschland." Cf. " Werke," Vol. I, 
pp. 285-356. ' Cf. I.e. p. 286. 



47 

determine the merits of the German imitators of Greek poets, 
all of which carries out the principle of Young, — " Know thy- 
self," and study the ancients in order to imitate them correctly. 

Herder, like Young, distinguishes between correct and servile 
imitation, or, as Hamann called it, " Nachahmen und Nachaffen." ^ 
Herder expresses the former as "einen Alten nachbilden, und 
ihm nacheifern," the latter, however, as "ihn kopiren, und ihm^ 
nachahmen." The former, also, is very rare, he says. And 
he continues: "Therefore Young in his work on original com- 
position is right, when he claims that the study of the ancients 
is in most cases detrimental ; he is right, and yet it is not there- 
fore necessary to dispense in the least with the study of the 
ancients." He cites Young, he says, because Rambach had 
recently refuted these arguments in his article.^ Herder doubts, 
however, that we are in as great need of original heads as some 
think, and wonders whether the benefits do not counterbalance 
the damage. "As soon," he continues, "as we praise, worship, 
and servilely imitate the ancients, simply because they are 
ancients ; as soon as we borrow or steal from them, because we 
think that v/e shall thus become modem ancients, or modem in 
the taste of the ancients; then imitation is unbearable." He 
closes in calling "die Heerde Nachahmer, " "das servum pecus," 
a Horatian phrase likewise applied by Hamann.* 

One of the finest expositions of the real merit of imitation in 
its highest sense Herder gives in the eighth chapter of his 
treatise, "Von der neuern Romischen Litteratur," ^ where he 
says, in substance: What is the meaning of better imitation? 
To imitate an author in his own words, to string together gram- 
matically his expressions, is mere handicraft. And since we 
can not confine ourselves entirely to the vocabulary of a writer 
without external violence, one must fear becoming uneven in 
style. "But imitation to acquire the tone of the ancients? 
Such imitation is much more elevated, and a work of talent. 

^ Cf. supra on Hamann, p. 37. 

^ Modern usage requires the accusative in this sense. 
^ Cf. supra, p. 17, 41-42. Cf. also "Werke," Vol. I, p. 383. 
^ Cf. supra, on Hamann, p. 37. 

^ " Ueber die neuere Deutsche Litteratur. Fragmente. Dritte Sammlung." 
1767. Cf. "Werke," Vol. I, pp. 408 ff. 



48 

If we read an author with the ardor with which he wrote, then 
he will needs inspire us, so that we shall be for a time transported, 
as it were, into his sphere ; his music still resounds in our ears ; 
we see with his eyes, we breathe in his sentiments, as if in our 
own element ; the strings of poetical feelings respond within us, 
quickened by his ; our words are formed in his manner ; we read 
usque ad scribendi sollicitudinem — and write. Now his lan- 
guage lives in us ; his rhythm resounds in our ears ; the chain 
of his pictures stands before our eyes ; we imitate his language, 
his meter, his style, and prove ourselves virtuosos. Now, I add, 
his ardor inflames our spirit, we create new figures in his pictures 
and recast his ideas ; we form new figures after the model of his, 
we surpass him in an expression; a certain turn stands out in 
brilliant reUef ; we form a better simile, — we become more 
than imitators, we become rivals. Our copies become for us 
pleasing monuments. . . . For the public these works are 
pledges of the worth of a man who developed himself so ex- 
cellently after the model of the ancients, who knows so much of 
their spirit, who has assimilated the taste of ancient beauty, 
whom we must admire, of whom we can expect much." But 
such works. Herder concludes, can not, nevertheless, attain the 
standard of the ancients comparatively, as masterpieces; since 
the conditions under which they were written are so entirely 
different. And so, after all, the imitator of Horace, however 
excellent, sings out of Horace, not out of himself, as Horace did.' 
Thus Herder reduces his argument ad absurdufn, as it were; 
he shows that imitation, however excellent, remains imitation 
still; whereas, imitation of the method of authors, following 
their sources and not themselves, treating contemporary conditions 
in the manner employed by the ancients in treating their con- 
ditions, produces new masterpieces and creates originals. Here, 
then. Herder follows Young's distinction between real imitation, 
that of authors, and real originals, i.e. imitation of nature.^ 

' Cf. Young : " But suppose an imitator to be most excellent, . . . yet 
still he but nobly builds upon another's foundation." And: "An imitator 
shares his crown, if he has one, with the chosen object of his imitation." 
Cf. " Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 552. 

'" Complete Works," Vol. II, pp. 551 ff. 



49 

Then Herder traces briefly the history of the servile imitation 
that had invaded, conquered, and oppressed Germany. We 
Germans thought, he says, in substance, we could express things 
more beautifully in Latin than in our own language ; secondly, 
that the ancients had exhausted the reabns of these beauties ; ^ 
thirdly, that we had inherited all these as incorporated in their 
works ; and lastly, if we seized their expression, we also attained 
their spirit, and if not all their spirit, no matter. So we decided 
to write in their language ; we avoided all that was not classical, 
so as not to deviate from the ancients; we sacrificed all origi- 
nahty, everything that might prevent our being called classical, 
and thus we became classical imitators ! This hateful word 
"classical." It has crowded out all the culture that could have 
been derived from the ancients as living models, and has es- 
tabhshed the fatal fame : " To be a connoisseur of the ancients, 
to be an artist, without any loftier aim in view. This desire 
has buried many a genius under a rubbish heap of mere words, 
has made his head a chaos of exotic expressions, and has rolled 
the burden of a dead language upon him hke a millstone. He 
has deprived his fatherland of blooming fruit trees; they now 
stand on foreign soil and mourn with half-withered blossoms 
and drooping leaves, whereas they ought to be trees under 
which posterity might dwell." This is the theme of servile 
imitation as found in the " Conjectures," and ends with a picture 
similar to that drawn by Young, when he calls the imitator "a 
transplanter of laurels, which sometimes die on removal, always 
languish in a foreign soil." ^ 

And continuing. Herder says,^ we ought to be taught by dis- 
astrous examples that if we prefer expression to thought itself, 
we produce that dead statue of style which is without faults, 
but also without especially individual beauties; without life or 
character, a boon for tedious readers, the admiration of the 



* Likewise in the second edition of the " Zweite Sammlung," Herder, in 
discussing the lyric, vents his sarcasm upon the universal wail, that Horace has 
completely exhausted the possibilities of the lyric. " O what Horatian des- 
potism! Ye geniuses of lyric poetry! Let us forsake this servile land," etc. 
Cf. "Werke," Vol. H, p. 179. 

»" Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 551. ' " Werke," Vol. II, p. 414. 



50 

ordinary fool, — but the wise man passes by. They shall see 
that what has been said ten times before is, however beautifully 
expressed, commonplace when repeated again. 

Young likewise speaks of words tarnishing by passing thru 
the mouths of the vulgar, and of thoughts becoming too common. 
"We may as well grow good by another's virtue, or fat by 
another's food, as famous by another's thought. The world 
will pay its debt of praise but once, and, instead of applauding, 
explode a second demand as a cheat." ^ 

The same thought regarding imitation is again expressed in 
Herder's discussion of the modern use of mythology, when he 
ardently proclaims, in reference to Horace : " O that I might 
proclaim loud enough, that whoever imitates Horace, merely to 
imitate him and to depict a beautiful, regular, artificial, and 
learned skeleton of his odes, is nevertheless no Horace, if he 
does not attain the purpose of the ode and is not able to reveal 
the Uving thought to our senses." ^ And on the same page 
Herder speaks as pointedly against the idea that original pro- 
duction depends upon the observation of classical rules. "I 
am not bold enough, therefore, to be a lawgiver and to say, 
'a heroic epic, a drama without Grecian or Roman cut is im- 
possible.' If I should say that, Shakspere and all our unborn 
Shaksperes, whom we hope for our stage; Ossian and Klop- 
stock, and all the Ossians and Klopstocks that we hope for, 
would cry out against me." 

Investigating the function and place of mythology in Uterature, 
Herder attributes its beautiful development among the ancients 
to an intensely creative imagination and deplores the fact that 
the Germans have not made as good use of their natural ad- 
vantages along the same line. It all resolves itself into the same 
question that Young discusses so fervently, the imitation of 
nature as opposed to imitation of authors. "Learn of them the 
art of gaining in your entirely different sphere a similar treasure 
of pictures. Instead of being satisfied with everything that 
Homer has given off, strengthen your intellects, so as to be able 
to drink from the ocean of sentiments and peculiarities that sur- 

» " Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 553. 

* " Vom neuem Gebrauch der Mythologie." Cf. " Werke," Vol. I, p. 437. 



51 

round you, without expiring." ^ That is, specifically stated, do 
not borrow allegories from the ancients, but learn their art of 
allegorizing. These views Herder then exempHfies by applying 
them to German poets. Thus in this also he gives them a 
practical bearing for the advancement of German literature. 

And so in his "Fragmente" Herder waged war against servile 
imitation and exhorted German writers to cultivate their powers 
and to produce originals, according to the precepts advocated 
by Young and voiced by himself in his second revised edition 
of these Fragments:^ "Ye geniuses, who procure everything 
from the abyss of your souls, why need I tell you that out of the 
essence of our religion and nation, of our culture and philosophy, 
. . . touching pictures of human effects and conditions can be 
drawn, that scorn even the altar of Bacchus?" If this were 
recognized and accepted, he adds, the Horatian ode would have 
to give way to original productions of imaginative genius, 
"hving copies of an uncommon human soul, warm copies of 
feelings in their best hours ; and as such how superior they are, 
in the eyes of the connoisseur of artistic temperament, to all 
stereotype imitations!" 

And it is also in the second edition of his "Fragmente" ^ that 
Herder sums up his whole purpose and campaign, in words 
similar to those of Young's famous first paradox: "Let rivals 
be aroused, not imitators. The better the ancients are known, 
the less they will be plundered; the more fortunately they are 
imitated, the sooner they will be equalled. And that, finally, 
is a copying original {kopirendes Original), in which no copy is 
evident; in which one creates of himself, following a Greek 
national author, a writer for one's own nation and language. 
He who is this, he writes jor his literature !^^ 

Early in Hfe * Herder says in reply to the criticism of the 
Litteraturhrieje — "no one should become a writer who has 
not read the ancients" — that this would rob us of all original 
writers ; and near the close of his Ufe,^ he writes similarly of the 

' "Werke," Vol. I, pp. 443-444. ^ Ibid., Vol. II, pp. 179-180. 

3 "Fragmente." 1767. Cf. "Werke," Vol.11, p. 162. 

* "Werke," Vol. I, p. 162. 

» "Kalligone." 1800. Cf. "Werke," Vol. XXII, pp. 215-216. 



52 

study of the ancients: "The mere study of the ancients, if it 
does not penetrate our very souls, but merely remains acquired 
knowledge, that, too, is lack of taste," — a reiteration of Young's 
point, that we must study and imitate not the works of the 
ancients, but their method and spirit. 

In Herder's discussions of the value of rules there is also 
much that suggests Young's ideas on the subject. As Hamann 
says in particular of Homer, who was not conscious of the rules 
that Aristotle later deduced. Herder says of the poet of genius : 
"A man whose soul, pregnant with thoughts, yearns to be re- 
lieved, never stops to consider how some future esthetic rule- 
smith will work him over to collect examples of style for his 
text-books." * This last point, too, is found in Young, who says 
a genius is not in need of rules ; they are an aid to the lame, an 
impediment to the strong.^ 

Herder takes up the same theme in his discussion of the 
critical analysis of works and the question whether a poet did 
or did not have in mind the rules that can be deduced from his 
works. "The greater he was, the less he burdened himself 
with definite, enervating rules; and it was the greatest genius 
who, when inspired by the muse, knew of no rule. A Sophocles 
thought of no rule of Aristotle ; is not all of Aristotle contained 
in him nevertheless ? The rules that the pedagog gathers from 
the ' Ihad ' — for whom are they rules ? For none ! . . . For 
no genius that can make a way for himself, or that can take an 
original flight, and so forth, as the cabaUstics of genius run. 
They are not to be rules at all; they are to be observations; 
enlightening, developing philosophy for philosophers, not for 
poetasters, not for self-governing poets." ' We are not to de- 
duce rules to follow, he says, but to observe methods, and then 
profit by the mode of procedure. If this is not done, the poet 
himself is to blame. 

In his article on Shakspere, discussing the drama of the 
ancients, Herder exclaims in words that are almost Young's 
own, "The art of their rules was — no art, was nature!"* 
And in his review of Baumgarten's ideas on natural esthetics, 

1 "Werke," Vol. I, p. 402. » "Werke," Vol. IV, p. 19. 

' "Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 557. * Ibid., Vol. V, p. 211. 



53 

he says: "Neither poet nor any ardent genius is conscious of 
rules, of partial conceptions (Theilbe griff e) of beauty, and 
laborious reflection. His power of imagination, his eagle eye 
for the unit, a thousand powers that arise in unison within 
him, are at work ; and he is unhappy if a rule disturbs him." ^ 

Like Young,^ Herder gives genius a rank above philosophy ; ^ 
genius is dormant in man, as the tree in the germ; genius is 
awakened like every other power/ Why, then, he says, is there 
such a lack of genius at the present day? "Why has there 
been such profound silence of late on our German Paniassus? 
W^hy has it almost become a fine art repository and workshop 
filled with impure air? — Genius has not died, but it is being 
held captive by rules, by patterns, by the ideals of our refined, 
critical, and moral age. Enervated in these bonds, enfeebled 
in the arms of Kalypso, it has not the necessary self-reliance ; it 
has lost the desire and courage to exert its power, to become in 
the face of all the censors of good taste, not hke them and others, 
but a great ego." ^ 

And then later, in another passage, he again takes up this 
point in a similar way, saying that nature is not so poor in gen- 
iuses as we think, when we consider as such only book and paper 
geniuses. "Every person of noble, living powers is a genius 
in his own way, in his own calling, and really, the best geniuses 
are found outside of the book room. ... As long as nature 
suffers no lack of sound germs and blossoming trees, she will 
not suffer any want of human geniuses. . . . Nature has noble 
germs enough; the trouble is that we do not recognize them; 
we trample them under foot, because we estimate genius mostly 
by deformity, by prematurity or exaggerated growth." ^ 

Compare with this Young, when he says: "But why are 
originals so few? Not because the writer's harvest is over, 
the great reapers of antiquity having left nothing to be gleaned 

1 " Werke," Vol. IV, p. 23. 

^ " Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 557 : " Genius, therefore, leaves but a second 
place, among men of letters, to the learned " ; p. 559 : " Learning we thank, 
genius we revere " ; p. 565 : " The well-accomplished scholar ... is as the 
bright morning star; the second (genius) as the rising sun." 

3 "Werke," Vol. V, p. 218. ^ Ibid., Vol. II, pp. 178-179. 

* Ibid., Vol. VIII, pp. 324-325. « Ibid., Vol. VIII, p. 223. 



54 

after them ; not because the human mind's teeming time is past, 
nor because it is incapable of putting forth unprecedented 
births ; but because illustrious examples engross, prejudice, and 
intimidate." ^ He deplores the great inferiority of modem 
authors — human souls in all periods are equal ; genius is not 
so rare as we imagine, — "many a genius, probably, there has 
been, which could neither write nor read. So that genius, that 
supreme lustre of Hterature, is less rare than you conceive." ^ 

In view of these expressions on genius, it is very apparent that 
when Herder, in his "Metakritik" of Kant's philosophy,^ 
takes issue with Kant's thoughts on genius, he is wasting time 
quibbling over words, not thoughts. It is true, Germany had 
gone to extremes over genius, and the Geniekult had provoked 
considerable opposition and a marked reaction. Thus some of 
Herder's criticism is justified, but most of it is mere logomachy. 
His views are identical with Kant's, only expressed in different 
words. Let us compare the following criticism : — 

(i) Kant says, "Genius is a talent, that talent to produce 
which no definite rule can be given; originality must be its 
first attribute." * In spite of the fact that Herder had voiced 
the same thought himself,^ he now quibbles with Kant by de- 
claring that this is not only contradictory but misleading. "At 
all events, genius works according to rules, and is a rule unto 
itself, even granted that not every third person could point it 
out. The 'originality' of genius (a very much abused word) 
can only mean that the genius produces a work of his own 
powers, not imitated, nowhere borrowed; else there can be, 
as the 'Kritik' itself says, 'original nonsense.'" 

(2) "The products of genius must be models at the same time, 
i.e. they must be exemplary, they must serve as criterion or rule 
for criticism." Against this Herder: "The work of genius 
exists, even if it is never imitated ; it stands unique of its kind. 
For imitation, or much more, for criticism, the work was never 
created, and is desecrated by imitation without genius. Further, 

* "Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 553. ^ Cf. ibid., p. 559. 
3 " Werke," Vol. XXII, pp. 197 ff. 

* For these quotations from Kant, cf. " Immanuel Kants Sammtliche Werke." 
G. Hartenstein. Leipzig, 1867. Vol. V, pp. 317-318. * Cf. supra, p. 52. 



55 

how different from each other are imitation and the rules of 
criticism ! Genius steps forth neither as file-leader nor as 
automaton, untroubled whether or not it become a rule of 
criticism or model for imitation. Presumptuous imitation, in- 
judicious acceptance as criterion or rule, pains genius." Again 
mere logomachy. Likewise : — 

(3) "Since genius itself can not demonstrate scientifically how 
it creates its products, it claims nature as its rule." Herder: 
"To give this the work of genius was not produced ; neither do 
nature and science declare themselves as opposites." This 
question is taken up similarly in the next point. 

(4) "Nature prescribes rules, not for science, but for art, and 
this only so far as it is to be fine arts." Herder: "Neither for 
the one nor the other ; both can, however, learn from that which 
is transmitted in a degree of perfection, as from example." In 
this Herder is quite right, and the point against Kant is well 
taken, and also in the following point. Herder's claim is very 
rational, altho in the strictest sense of the originality of 
genius, Kant is really in the right, but perhaps too severe in 
his reproach. 

(5) "He who can never do more than learn and imitate is a 
simpleton." "That he is not," Herder objects. "If he learned 
faithfully and imitates exactly, he can with his acquired knowl- 
edge, with his faithful imitation of the most beautiful and best, 
become a wise, clever, useful man; else whole faculties and 
schools would be simpletons by profession." 

(6) Kant contends that there is no specific difference between 
what can be learned according to rules of investigation and 
reflection (Forschung und Nachdenken) and what can be gained 
thru dihgence by means of imitation. Thus one can learn 
all that Newton has contributed in his immortal work on the 
Principles of Natural Philosophy, but one can not learn to write 
with talent. Because Newton could have demonstrated, not 
only to himself but to everyone else, all his steps, whereas Homer 
and Wieland can not show how their ideas grew in their minds. 
Therefore, in science the greatest inventor differs from the most 
wretched imitator only in degree. This Herder quite correctly 
denies. He who invents something in science, he says, produces, 



56 

as well as the poet, something individual and new that he did 
not " learn." The more important it was, the more the inventor, 
a genius in science, differs from the learner and imitator. No 
scientific inventor belongs to the ranks of imitation, even among 
the foremost. What he invented he did not learn, and, further- 
more, Homer and Wieland had to learn too. 

(7) Herder claims that imagination and judgment are not the 
only requisites for genius, but reason alike is indispensable. 

(8) Finally, Herder reaches the real normal level of his views 
on the subject, returns entirely to his original plane, and touches 
the real point at issue ; the history of the world has proved that 
all progress is due to alert and inspiring genius. And because a 
few overbold youths misused the name is no excuse for the 
Germans to use the word as a term of ridicule and reproach. 
It is the noblest gift of heaven. "The ancients spoke less of 
genius, but honored and cultivated it perhaps more than we." ^ 
Then Herder proceeds to show what genius meant to the ancients 
and how the term has been abused in modern times. "The 
geniuses of the human race are its friends and knights, its pro- 
tectors and helpers. . . . To arouse spirit, to animate forces, 
is their service and the reward of their services." 

Much of this, to be sure, advances beyond Young's scope of 
Hterary criticism into the realms of philosophy, but the spirit and 
tenor is the same : except that Herder, abreast with the times, 
defends real genius in its noblest aspects and leads the reaction 
against the Geniekult gone mad. 

And finally, altho Herder, in keeping with the progress of 
the ever increasing interest in Shakspere, goes far in advance 
of Young in his Shakspere criticism, it is interesting to note that 
he follows the same line of criticism as suggested by Young. 
The growth of Shakspere's popularity among the Germans 
was due largely to the fact that Young represented him as the 
great original genius of modern times, not the son, but the brother 
of the ancients. So Herder says: "Just there Shakspere is 
Sophocles's brother, where he is so unlike him in appearance 
merely to prove to be exactly like him in essence." ^ 

' " Werke," Vol. XXII, p. 202. Cf. supra, p. 20. 

^ Ibid., Vol. V, p. 225. On p. 229, Shakspere is called the "British 



57 

Thus he appHes to Shakspere words that are identical with 
Young's paradox: "The less we copy the renowned ancients, 
we shall resemble them the more." Young says Shakspere 
knew two books only, that of man and that of nature,^ and it 
is his abihty to study and imitate nature that makes him supreme 
among moderns and equal to the ancients. Similarly, Herder 
calls Shakspere the son of nature,^ and the great imitator of all 
nature ; ^ and finally, he says Shakspere has no law but the 
faithful portrayal of nature and of man * as revealed about him. 

Herder, then, took up the ideas of originahty in literature as 
preached by Young and corroborated by Hamann, and not only 
laid stress upon the same principles, but sought to exemplify 
them and to apply them for the purpose of arousing national 
pride in German letters. Thus he helped to free Germany 
from the servility of imitation and prepared the way for the 
literature that has made Germany famous. 

8. Conclusion 

Nature, originality, and genius were, then, the great watch- 
words of the poets of the Storm and Stress period. Shakspere 
was their favorite poet ; for in him they saw the one upon whom 
genius had been most abundantly bestowed, the one who, with- 
out observing traditional rules, taking nature as his model, had 
created the most wonderful works, in all of which he had never 
failed to be entirely original. This enthusiasm, augmented 
by the introduction of Ossian, the Skaldic poetry, Percy's 
"Reliques," the study of Homer, Hans Sachs, etc., developed 
an ardent admiration for nature and folk-poetry, which was 
studied and imitated, and added new inspiration to poetic 
productivity. 

Sophocles," and Vol. IX, p. 543, Herder says the two dramatists are not to be 
judged one by the other; they are incommensurable. It is true that Bodmer, 
as early as 1732, in the preface of his translation of Milton, had called Shak- 
spere the " British Sophocles" ; but Bodmer wrote the name " Sasper," and so is 
hardly to be regarded as a possible source. Cf. supra, p. 11. 

' " Complete Works," Vol. II, p. 574. 

^ " Werke," Vol. V, p. 232, " Anhang " ; cf. also p. 238. 

2 Cf. ibid., p. 248. " Cf. ibid., p. 245. 



58 

How Goethe, Herder, Wieland, Burger, in fact all the leading 
writers of the eighteenth century, took part in this movement 
is too well known to need repetition here and lies beyond the 
scope of this work. Goethe's "Gotz von Berlichingen," "Die 
Leiden des jungen Werthers," Burger's "Lenora," are promi- 
nent products of these years of the awakening of genius. Lenz, 
Wagner, Klinger, are all disciples of the reaction against rules 
and formalism. Their works, whatsoever may be said against 
them, breathe a freshness, a vigor and enthusiasm, a new life, 
that German letters had not yet seen ; and much that the critics 
who followed Young had tried to accomplish was now fulfilled. 



CHAPTER III 

THE ''NIGHT THOUGHTS" IN GERMANY 

I. Historical Survey 

The scattered notices in German periodicals * of the earlier 
works of Young had indeed introduced his name into Germany, 
but there is no indication that these works attracted much 
attention; at least, they have left behind no trace in the litera- 
ture of that early period. 

The first important article on Young is the lengthy review 
of the "Satires" by Gottsched, in 1745,^ which cites and trans- 
lates numerous verses; but the work is attributed by Gott- 
sched to Glover, and so it was left for Young's chief work, the 
"Night Thoughts," to make his name really known in Ger- 
many. 

The "Night Thoughts" appeared at a time (1742-1745) 
when the more progressive minds of Germany were looking 
eagerly to England for new literary inspiration. North Ger- 
many was in close touch with England both geographically 
and poHtically, and was therefore especially open to English 
influence. On the other hand, in South Germany, English 
letters had won their most zealous devotees among the Swiss 
school of Bodmer; thus conditions were most favorable for 
the rapid spread of English literary influence. 

The moral weeklies (Moralische Wochenschriften) that were 
modelled after the Taller, Spectator, and Guardian,^ were the 

* Cf. Bibliography, infra, p. 135. 

^ Since the material of this survey follows the chronological order of the 
Bibliography, Chapter V, only such works are cited as can not readily be found 
there under the given date. 

^ The Tatler, published by Steele (1709-1711), was followed by the Spectator, 
published by Steele and Addison (1711-1713). The Gtiardian was published 
by Steele in 1713. 

59 



60 

principal medium thru which the first seeds of English 
inspiration were planted in Germany. Beginning with the 
Verminftler in Hamburg (17 13)/ these moral weekHes found 
so much favor and increased so rapidly that by the middle 
of the century over one hundred and twenty had led a more 
or less abbreviated existence. 

The movement began with Milton. The Spectator re-intro- 
duced "Paradise Lost"^ into Germany, where it found re- 
sponse in translations^ and in the two prominent imitations: 
Bodmer's "Noah," and Klopstock's "Messias." After Milton 
came Pope, Addison, Dryden, Swift, Defoe, and others, who 
met with a hearty reception and were read both in the original 
and in translations. And so the way had been well prepared 
for the reception of the "Night Thoughts" in Germany. 

Why were the "Night Thoughts" so eagerly received, so 
zealously and widely read and studied? Why were they able 
to exert so great an influence? The Swiss were interested in 
them especially, because the poem satisfied their requirements for 
a masterpiece. There was absence of rime, combined with 
the chaotic preponderance of the imagination, and the implicit 
acceptance of the mysterious and marvellous, — qualities that 
reminded them of the sublime piety of their master Milton.^ 

New models were sought, by the old school still among the 
French and the ancients, and by the new school among the 
English. This insured an introduction; but the "Night 
Thoughts" were assured a hearty welcome, because they were 
the expression of personal grief, of private cares. They struck 
a responsive chord in the tendency of the period to express 
its efforts, longings, and desires in pensive poetry. The writers 
of this period did not seek so much to portray Hfelike pictures, 
as to allow the ego to give vent to its morbid and vaguely dis- 
contented feelings. There was dissatisfaction with social and 

* Max Kawczynski's work on the "Moralische Wochenschriften," Leipzig, 
1880, gives an admirable account of these journals. 

^ A poor translation by Berge in 1762 had long been forgotten. 

^ Bodmer, having become acquainted with " Paradise Lost" in a French 
translation in 17 19, at once began to translate it into German. He finished the 
translation in 1724, but did not publish it until 1732. 

^ "Le Pofete Edward Young," W. Thomas. Paris, 1901, p. 502. 



61 

political conditions, from which men sought relief in literary 
expression; and this vague aspiration revealed itself in exag- 
gerated sentimentalism. 

Goethe characterizes the period in the Thirteenth Book 
of his Autobiography, showing how the serious German was 
especially attracted to this serious poetry of the English, and 
how the conditions prepared the way for his "Werther" and 
brought on a period of melancholy with not infrequent suicide. 
The same conditions made popular Gray's " Elegy," Akenside's 
"Pleasures of the Imagination," and similar works of Elizabeth 
Rowe, Ogilvie, Warton, Prior, and others, which, taken up by 
the sentimental current, increased its volume and momentum. 

This is the background of the period of which the "Night 
Thoughts" were an integral part, and in which, because the Ger- 
mans took Young seriously, they were able to play so important 
a role. They did not know that the three darts which the 
"insatiate archer" aimed at Young's happiness hit during a 
period of four years, and that he did not begin to pour out his 
inconsolable grief until some time after the taking off of his 
spouse, whose death he really does not mourn until the ninth 
"Night," almost five years after her death. They were touched 
by his grief, so they overlooked the artificiality of the "Com- 
plaint," and did not reahze the bombast and insincerity of 
the poet-preacher, who was quite gay and dissipated in youth 
and was weaned from the world only when age overtook him. 
To the Germans, Young's life was that of a saint, his grief the 
wail of an immortal in the wilderness of mortal sins and weak- 
nesses; and so the courtier and disappointed flatterer became 
for his cousins across the Channel the essence of all that is 
good and noble in the Christian, the guide to life, — a position 
that hypocrisy can hardly hold long. It is true, some of the 
sharper eyes penetrated Young's mask at once, but without 
effect. Wieland was the first great writer to be cured abso- 
lutely (1758), the rest suffered a longer delusion. In 1772, 
Mauvillon and Unzer^ hit the truth when they said, "If we 
had been endowed with manly qualities and had not so much 

* " Ueber den Werth einiger Deutscher Dichter," etc. Frankfurt und Leip- 
zig, 1771-1772. C£. 15th "Brief." 1772. 



62 

childishness and effeminacy inherent in us, we should have 
scoffed and ridiculed the fool who depicts the world as a prison 
and a judgment- seat, with colors that he took from misunder- 
stood and misinterpreted religious maxims." 

I 746-1 750 

Altho the first German translation of the "Night Thoughts" 
did not appear until 1751/ seven years after the completion 
of the ninth Night, there is sufficient evidence to prove that 
the poem had attracted attention much earlier and was read 
in the original, perhaps even before Young had published the 
last Night. 

The first review appeared in the Gottingische Anzeigen, 
March, 1746, and speaks of the completion of the excellent 
didactic poem, the "nightothougths" ^ of ''D. Younge" in 
a way that suggests previous knowledge of the existence of the 
poem, in spite of ignorance of correct English orthography. 
The same impression is made by the second review, which 
appeared in June of the same year, in the Leipziger Zeitungen, 
and abounds in the highest praise for this "masterpiece." 

The same year the poets Gleim and Uz begin an interesting 
correspondence on the merits of the "Night Thoughts," a proof 
that they had been studying Young's poems for years. Ebert 
is busy with the work during these years, studying and prepar- 
ing for his life's work of translation and revision of the author 
who was to become his favorite. Klopstock, too, altho he 
did not learn English until some years later — and then from 
the "Night Thoughts" — is very familiar with Young's poem, 
as his letters prove; and the first cantos of his "Messias" 
already show Young's influence. Lessing, also, in his frag- 
ments, has left behind proof that the "Night Thoughts" had 
found response in his nature. 

Two groups of writers were responsible for the rapid and 
certain spread of Young's meditations, — the Swiss and the 
coterie of the Bremer Beitrdge. Bodmer published the first 

' Bodmer's fragments of 1749 not considered. 

* Corrected on p. 188 to the spelling " nightthougths." 



63 

translation of verses from the "Night Thoughts" in his 
periodical Neue Critische Briefe (1749) and was then gath- 
ering from Young inspiration which was later to reveal itself 
in his own work, the " Noah," in 1750. The poet Tschamer also 
studied the "Night Thoughts," and his early poems written 
in this period betray the influence of the "Complaint." But 
the group of the Bremer Beitrdge, united in their common liter- 
ary studies, were the most important factor, altho the 
results of their early interest did not appear until later. They 
were the hterary "hot bed," so to speak, of the propagation 
of Young's nocturnal meditations. 

These first five years after the completion of the "Night 
Thoughts" are, then, a period of study of that poem for the 
poets interested in Young; a period of preparation that was 
soon to yield a number of translations, among which at least 
one, that of Ebert, is a monumental work of zeal, interpretation, 
and scholarship; an example of literary style that did much 
to cultivate what Germany then needed, — a good, smooth, 
fluent prose. 

1751-1759 

The Germans now became anxious to know what was the 
cause of Young's grief and who were the originals of the char- 
acters celebrated in the "Night Thoughts." Tschamer visited 
him in the spring of 1751, and his letter to Haller, pubhshed 
as preface in Kayser's translation of 1752 and in the later edition 
of 1 760-1 76 1, furnished at least part of the information.^ While 
in London, Tschamer found time to translate the "Night 
Thoughts" into German hexameters, — a translation that 
never appeared in print. 

But there was no lack of published translations. Ebert's 
was the first to appear. Early in 1751, he pubhshed in prose 
the first seven Nights in what was planned to be a series of 
translations of the best English writers. But Ebert became 

' A certain Herr Majes of Hanover called on Richardson, in 1759, to learn 
more about these things, but the outcome seems to have been as fruitless as 
Ebert's inquiry by letter. Cf. his undated letter to Young, 1 760-1 761 ; cf. also 
"Le Poete Edward Young," W. Thomas. Paris, 1901, p. 198, note 4. 



64 

so engrossed in perfecting his rendition of the " Night Thoughts" 
and "Satires" that he never carried out his plan beyond the 
translation of the most of Young's works, exclusive of the trag- 
edies and "Conjectures." This translation, favorably re- 
ceived and reviewed, was completed the next year and passed 
thru four editions, 1753, 1756, and 1763.* 

Two other translators, independently of Ebert, conceived 
the idea of translating the "Night Thoughts" about the same 
time and published their work in 1752 ; the one, Geusau, printed 
Night IV in Jena, the other, Kayser, a pastor hving near Han- 
over, published Nights I-IV in Gottingen. Geusau's work 
is in miserable, monotonous, deadening Alexandrines, which, 
however, received favorable notices for being a means of helping 
to spread the work of "worthy Young." Kayser's transla- 
tion, which owes its existence to the instigation of Haller, and 
contains as preface the letter on Young which he had received 
from Tschamer, is in hexameters and prints the original on 
the pages opposite. It was rather favorably reviewed by no 
less a critic than Lessing, who joins the Gottingische Zeitungen 
in hoping that Kayser will continue the translation. Lessing 
shows special interest in the data on Young, altho he can 
not think very highly of the hexameters. 

The year 1754 brought, in a Hamburg periodical, the posthu- 
mously pubHshed translation of Night V by Oeder, the first 
translation in the original meter. Part of this was later used 
by Herder.^ The next year this was followed by an anonymous, 
weak translation of the first Night, this time in rimed trochaic 



* To suppose, however, that these editions were pubHshed regularly under 
these dates as indicated above, would give an incorrect picture of the state of 
things. An examination of all the editions available in Germany, both in libra- 
ries and book shops, failed to reveal a single copy of any edition, except the 
first, complete. The four editions were snatched up and bound together, as 
if the demand had been too great to supply. It is significant, further, that the 
other works of Young translated by Ebert and comprising volume two (1754- 
1756) did not pass thru a second edition, altho one or two copies were 
found with the date 1762. It was quite customary to revise the date on the 
title-page of a reprint. It is further interesting to note that the fourth edition 
appeared (1763) after Ebert had begun to publish his new, annotated transla- 
tion with the original on the pages opposite, 1760 on. 

* Cf. injra, p. 108. 



65 

octameters, published in Frankfort. In 1756, appeared a 
similar anonymous attempt, most likely by the same translator, 
upon Night IV, equally poor, but fortunate enough to receive 
the most lavish praise of Gottsched. Both of these octameter 
translations were reprinted with the addition of Night II, in 
1759, when they again received the warmest admiration of 
Gottsched, probably because they reminded him of his favorite 
French Alexandrines. 

Besides these ten editions of the whole or parts of the " Night 
Thoughts," numerous translations appeared, before 1760, of 
the other works of Young, all of which added to his popularity 
and thus helped to draw attention to the ''Night Thoughts." 
But more or less directly in the wake of Young's poem there 
sprang up a host of minor imitations, morose and gloomy com- 
plaints and sentimentally sorrowful lyrics; and the moral 
weekhes were filled with ephemeral literature that gave clear 
evidence of the effect of Young's nocturnal melancholy.^ 

During this period Klopstock learned English from the 
"Night Thoughts" and, filled with admiration for the work, 
he wrote his ode to Young (1752), one of the most reverent 
tributes ever paid the "Author of the Night Thoughts." 
Together with his wife, Klopstock carried on an interesting 
correspondence during these years with Young and Richardson. 

Bodmer, too, studied, reviewed, and recommended the 
"Night Thoughts," and both he and Klopstock are of especial 
importance, because their epics spread Young's tone and in- 
creased the desire to write in his manner. 

Lessing and Gottsched reviewed the translations, the latter, 
however, betraying his ignorance of the "Night Thoughts" 
in speaking of the rime of the original. 

The Bremen group and their associates, Uz, Creuz, Cramer, 
Gellert, Cronegk, etc., are giving evidence in the fifties of their 
study of the "Night Thoughts"; and others, Hamann, Zim- 
mermann, Crugot, Lavater, etc., celebrate "Sohtude" and 
similar themes in Young's tone. 

Wieland, in this his hypersentimental period, is entirely un- 
der the spell of the English poet, an attitude which suddenly 

' Cf. infra, pp. 102-105, for list. 



66 

developed into as intense disgust and hatred. After about 1758, 
Wieland would hear nothing more of the "Night Thoughts." 

The pinnacle of fanatical admiration was reached that year, 
when J. A. Cramer, in his periodical Der Nordische Aujseher, 
extolling religion as a passion, calling affectation, as exem- 
plified in Young's "Night Thoughts," reason in religion, and 
branding everything less ardent as undevout, called Young 
a genius far sublimer than Milton and of all human beings 
next to David and the Prophets. This was too much, and 
immediately the Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschajten took 
issue with Cramer and not only dealt out justice to Milton, but 
assigned to Young his proper level. Lessing, too, in the Lit- 
teraturhrieje (1759) rejected this praise as exaggerated, but not 
as strongly as one would expect and as Nicolai was bold enough 
to do a little later. 

And so already in this decade, which abounds in increasingly 
intense admiration of Young, the reaction has begun, a move- 
ment that gained greatly in extent and influence during the next 
decades. 

1760-1770 

In spite of this feeling against Young and his followers, 
Ebert had a new edition of the "Night Thoughts" I-IV ready 
for the press in 1760, and this time, after the style of Kayser's 
1752 edition and in compliance with the wish expressed by 
several critics, with the English text on the pages opposite. 
But Ebert had to outdo Kayser, and so he pubUshed copious 
notes to elucidate and interpret difficult passages and to point 
out all the thoughts in Young that the latter had borrowed 
from his predecessors, or that his successors had taken from 
him. The nine Nights were completed in this new edition by 
1769, and the first six had passed thru a second edition. 
A reprint of the first eight Nights of this translation, in three 
volumes, was pubhshed in Schaffhausen (i 765-1 768), the 
fourth volume containing the last Night not appearing until 

1774- 

Indefatigable in his zeal, Ebert also published, under a new 
title, an edition of the complete "Night Thoughts," following 



67 

the new edition of 1 760-1 769 as far as that had been completed, 
i.e. Nights I-VIII, but without notes or EngUsh original. 

All these editions were abundantly reviewed in the contem- 
porary periodicals, mostly with favor. Almost every one who 
was at all favorably disposed toward Young praised Ebert's 
zealous labors and saw in his harmonious prose a perfect re- 
production of Young's verse. The value of the notes was the 
subject of the most discussion. As a rule they were considered 
a splendid, erudite assistance to the mastery of Young's excellent 
poem, but grave doubts were expressed by many on the real 
value of such copious remarks; they were regarded as a hin- 
drance rather than aid and above all as a mere attempt to spread 
bombastically a mass of affected knowledge. 

One writer, Dusch, altho he heaped praise upon Young, 
angry that his own translation of Pope had not been accorded 
the same appreciation, and jealous of Ebert's reputation, not 
only contested the latter's superiority, but even tried to prove 
to the world that his translation of Pope was equal and 
even superior to Ebert's rendition of the "Night Thoughts." 

In spite of the new, enlarged, annotated edition, Ebert found, 
in 1763, a market for a fourth edition of his original translation 
of 175 1- 1752, revising the text of Nights I-VIII according to 
the new edition. 

Kayser, too, encouraged by the success of his 1752 transla- 
tion of the first four Nights in hexameters, added the remaining 
Nights in the same meter and published them in 1 760-1 761 
at Hanover, illustrating each Night to make the book more 
attractive. This translation was also the subject of much 
criticism. Considerable fault was found with the hexameters; 
but most critics considered it an excellent piece of work, one 
going so far as not only to declare it superior to Ebert's rendi- 
tion, but to pronounce Kayser superior to Ebert as an Enghsh 
scholar. 

In addition to these two principal translations, an anonymous 
translation was published in 1761, a rearrangement of the 
"Night Thoughts," grouping the best sentiments under sixteen 
topics with the title "Moralische Gedanken iiber verschiedene 
Gegenstande der Religion," which was also graciously received. 



68 

Even the miserable, anonymous translation in octameters of 
Nights I, II, and IV was reprinted; Young's name was used 
in anthologies to add to their attractiveness and importance; 
the moral weeklies continued to draw material from the "Night 
Thoughts," and numerous works on literature, Enghsh writers, 
and the Hke, contained estimates of the "Night Thoughts" with 
praise for Young. 

Even French translations are dragged in thru reviews in 
all the leading periodicals, and every one seems anxious to say 
something about the great poem. During these years Ebert 
is giving Enghsh courses in the "Night Thoughts" at the 
Carohneum; and Klopstock, in his treatise "Von der heiligen 
Poesie" (1760), discusses the work at length and pronounces 
it the only example of sublime poetry that deserves to be without 
a fault. Young's satires, tragedies, and other writings continue 
to receive attention and add to his glory. 

Gerstenburg reviews the "Night Thoughts" with ardor; 
Dusch is influenced by them; Schubart is busy with them; 
Knebel is rescued from the abyss of doubt thru them and 
is held spell-bound ; Herder begins his active work with them ; 
Lenz imbibes them ; Hamann continues his studies in them ; 
and the youthful Goethe uses them as his Enghsh reader. But 
worse than all this, scores of poets imitate lamely : they are 
lonesome and sad, they have night thoughts on all occasions, 
even on pleasure trips; they "Youngize" without cause, simply 
because that is the current fad. 

What could be so inevitable as a reaction against all this 
folly? Moser pleads for hfe and humor in his "Harlekin"; 
Jacobi satirizes and ridicules these "funeral bards" and "black 
prophets";; and Heinse considers these imitations, and even 
Young's "Complaint" itself, mere affected grief. But the 
most effective cuts were given by Nicolai and Klotz. The former, 
in the Litteraturhrieje (1761), reproaches the Germans with a 
shameful desire to flock weakly in droves after one single genius 
who has entered a new field, whether he be a German or foreigner. 
Now comes Young, he says, with his complaints, and all our poets 
are sad, they are lonesome, they gush forth complaints and know 
not why ; the very mob that was revelling in anacreontic songs 



69 

a decade ago is now incapable of anything but sadness and 
seriousness, simply because it is the fad of the day. These 
N achtgedankenmacher are a disgrace to the nation. 

But Klotz, in his Deutsche Bihliothek (i 768-1 769), is the 
bitterest anti- Young critic. He not only pronounces the " Night 
Thoughts" repugnant to every person of good taste, but even 
attack's Youngs views of life as false and disgusting. He calls 
the style affected, inclined to be mystical and obscure, and 
pronounces the conception as well as the execution of the whole 
plan poor and unfortunate. Young is for him the king of night 
owls (Uhus), the source of corruption in English poetry, and a 
menace to German letters. 

This decade is, then, the most prolific in editions of German 
translations of the "Night Thoughts," the richest in influence 
upon German writers, and most pervaded with enthusiastic 
interest in the "Night Thoughts." But it also produced a 
decided increase in the reaction against Young and his imitators 
that had been evident since the time of Wieland's conversion in 
1758; a reaction that grew steadily from now on and made 
itself felt especially in the next decade. 

1771-1779 

This decade presents an interesting picture. Not a single new 
attempt is made during this period to translate the "Night 
Thoughts" or any other work of Young. Periodicals con- 
tain reviews of three different French editions of the "Night 
Thoughts," and of the sixth volume of Young's works in Lon- 
don. An English edition of the poem is published in Hamburg, 
and some unimportant discussions of Young appear ; otherwise 
the field has been surrendered to Ebert. 

Two reasons may be assigned for this lack of translations, 
both having their origin in timidity : first, the scathing reviews 
of the preceding decade against the "Night Thoughts" and 
especially against their German imitators may either have dis- 
heartened the would-be translators, or may have converted 
them and turned their talents in other directions ; and secondly, 
the success of Ebert may have crowded them out of the field, 



70 

which they resigned to him quite willingly, thinking, perhaps, 
that no new translation was necessary in the face of his perfect 
work. 

At all events, as opposed to the failure of a single new transla- 
tor to appear, Ebert continues his editing with undiminished 
vigor. Besides a new edition (the third) of his translation of 
the "Resignation," and iive of the "Satires," as well as a new 
edition of all the other works that he had translated, Ebert 
published, in Braunschweig, the second edition of Nights 
VII-VIII of the annotated edition that had appeared in the 
preceding decade; and a new edition of the 1767 edition of the 
complete Nights. Volume IV of the Schaffhausen edition ap- 
peared (1774), containing the ninth Night, as well as a com- 
plete reprint of this edition, comprising all the Nights in four 
volumes (1776-177 7). 

Basedow arranged a chrestomathy in Ebert's translation of 
Young's best thoughts, for use as a text-book on morals and 
rehgion (1778). And this tells one of the secrets of the success 
of Ebert and of his continued output of new editions. The 
religious and moral maxims of the "Night Thoughts" were 
excellently adapted to ecclesiastical work; they formed a good 
companion piece to the catechism and litany, and went hand 
in hand with the Bible itself. But we must not forget that 
Ebert was a pedagog, and as professor of Enghsh offered courses 
in the "Night Thoughts" at the CaroUneum in Braunschweig. 
His annotated edition was the text-book and many editions 
were necessary to supply his pupils, — perchance a vulgar use 
for such a work, but a practical application. 

Influence upon the literature of the period has not ceased. 
Goethe writes his "Werther," a product to a large extent of the 
literary tendencies that followed in the wake of the "Night 
Thoughts"; Schiller is in his Klopstock- Young period; Jean 
Paul, Tiedge, and others have joined the scores of Young's 
followers, and the poetasters continue to flood the press with 
their ephemeral lucubrations. 

But the reactionists, too, Jacobi, Heinse, etc., have received 
new forces; Michaelis, Wetzel, and others continue to put 
forth their satire and endeavor to crowd the "Night Thoughts" 



71 

out of the field ; and Herder, altho he calls Young the fore- 
most of all gloomy poets, finds fault with his chaos of thoughts 
and figures, and prophesies that the imitators of Young and 
Hervey, the Schmierer von Nachtgedanhen, must finally become 
the most distasteful of poets. 

The Frankfurter Gelehrte Anzeigen (1772) also show a de- 
cided antipathy toward the "Night Thoughts," but most im- 
portant of all are the attacks by the critics Mauvillon and Unzer 
(1771-1772). Starting with Gellert, they attribute to him an 
exaggerated influence, which made the widespread potency of 
Young's "Complaint" possible. And then, coming to Young 
himself and his imitators, these critics dwell upon the absurdity 
of Young's irreconcilable grief, however sad his bereavement; 
and they express their wonder and surprise that he was ever so 
much admired in Germany and was allowed to do so much 
damage to literary taste, whereas in England his popularity 
had waned at once. For this these critics make the Germans 
themselves responsible and reproach them with their weakness 
in allowing their "Anglomania" to carry them off their feet. 

This tirade supported very effectively the position taken by 
the reactionists of the preceding decade and was undoubtedly 
largely the cause of the lack of new translators in this decade. 
But we must not imagine that the Germans were cured of imi- 
tation. The other phase of Young's influence was now at its 
zenith, i.e. the cry for originals which was nourished by the 
"Conjectures," and "Night Thoughts" imitation had to go 
with the rest. 

But the special cause of the turning away from the "Night 
Thoughts" is rather to be found in the increasing predilection 
for Ossian and Percy's "Reliques." Thomson's "Seasons" 
and Young's "Night Thoughts" had taught the Germans how 
to express their feelings freely; but such poetry, together with 
Gray's "Elegy," Akenside's "Pleasures of the Imagination," 
and the like, did nothing more. It inspired them to religious, 
melancholy reflection, too metaphysical and conventionally 
affected to touch the heart deeply, sincerely, or with a satisfying 
effect. It emancipated the ego to a certain extent, but did not 
teach the profoundest secrets of nature that Wordsworth, for 



72 

instance, later revealed. It is a transition to subjectivism, 
which prepared the way for the voice of nature as effectively 
revealed in the folk-poetry. This added a new source of in- 
terest and inspiration for imitation and emulation, because 
they were originals and nourished the spirit of the times that 
raved over originals. Homer and Shakspere, also, were chief 
models, not as works to be imitated, but as writers who depicted 
nature faithfully and whose method was to be imitated and was 
to furnish the secret of success. 

Thus, in distinction to the preceding decade which was the 
period of the greatest influence of the "Night Thoughts," in 
this decade the reaction against Young and his imitators had 
reached its height. From this time on, altho there continues 
a more or less pronounced predilection for Young on the part 
of a certain class of writers, it is less fanatical and extensive than 
before, and, compared with the feeling of opposition which con- 
tinues to work hand in hand with the increasing desire to culti- 
vate original genius, is weak and undecided, and of minor 
importance. 

1 780- 1 789 

In this decade it is very evident that the reaction against 
Young has not only been successful in Hmiting and almost stop- 
ping imitation of the "Night Thoughts," but Young is fading 
away from the public gaze and is rapidly being forgotten. 
Ebert's translation is reprinted in Speier, in a library of religious 
and moral works (1780), and a supplementary volume is added 
(1782) in Frankfort; Herder uses some verses of Night II in 
his "Briefe das Studium der Theologie betreffend" (1780), 
but beyond this little activity is evident. 

In 1780, also, Professor Eckert in Mannheim presumes to 
revise Ebert's translation in a new edition under the title of 
Young's Complete Works, to which he adds a translation of two 
of the tragedies, in 1784, when the whole edition appeared in 
five volumes. But the periodicals are silent. Even Ebert 
receives no notice ; anthologies and works on literature scarcely 
mention the "Night Thoughts," and the German translation 
of a French chrestomathy, "Moralische Betrachtungen uber 



73 

den Werth des Lebens," passes without notices. In fact, the 
only attempt that receives the attention of critics is the hex- 
ameter translation of the "Night Thoughts" by Steingriiber, 
and the criticism of that seems to have been written chiefly to 
find fault with the use of hexameters in German. 

The former admirers of Young are silent. Schiller has turned 
from Klopstock and Young, and only a few of the youngest 
poets consider Young a force. Jacobi and his reactionists are 
joined by Matthisson, Wagner, and others, altho their zeal 
is scarcely any longer necessary. To offset this, of course, the 
idea of original genius has risen in strength proportionately, 
and nature, as found in the folk-song, Shakspere, and Ossian, 
is the leading source of inspiration. 

That Germany had gained its equilibrium as far as fanatical 
admiration and imitation of the "Night Thoughts" is concerned, 
is attested by one writer at least. C. F. Cramer, in his work on 
Klopstock, correctly characterizes Young's influence upon the 
times and furnishes proof, conceding him to be representative 
of the times, that the literary world had begun to realize the 
truth. 

I 790-1800 

But for Ebert, the "Night Thoughts," at the end of the 
century, would have been decidedly a thing of the past. Ebert 
seemed to feel, however, that he must bring the study of his 
favorite poet to a successful close by editing a last edition that 
would include the results of his investigations since the annotated 
edition of the sixties ; and so, in the years 1790- 1794, hepubhshed 
what he himself called the final edition of the "Night Thoughts" 
and "Satires," and then laid down his pen forever. But his 
editions lived on. He had begun to publish a final reprint of 
the edition of 1767, without notes, but only Volume I, containing 
the " Night Thoughts," appeared (i 791) ; the volumes containing 
the other works of Young were delayed until after his death. 
Volume II appearing in 1799. 

In this decade Herder stifl draws upon the "Night Thoughts" 
in the Neue Deutsche Monatschrijt (1795), and numerous selec- 
tions are included in anthologies and collections, but without 



74 

special emphasis upon Young. The writers of this period who 
mention Young in their works are either cool or decidedly an- 
tagonistic, and the once ardently admired poet is now almost 
totally rejected. 

It was reserved, moreover, for one of the warmest of these 
admirers, Herder, to give the last important estimate of the 
century, and that was rendered with a coolness that leaves 
beyond a doubt the fact that the Germans had at last com- 
pletely recovered from the Young epidemic. Herder expresses 
his surprise, as he reviews the movement, that Young was ever 
considered a deep thinker, and claims that no work is to be 
read with so much caution as the "Night Thoughts"; and 
Schiller, in his essay on "Naive and Sentimental Poetry" 
(i 795-1800), brands Young as the least competent guide to 
life. 

Thus the "Night Thoughts" ran their course in the second 
half of the eighteenth century, rising to an extremely sublime 
height and then sinking to the very unimportant position of a 
school text; for Herrmann, Gymnasium teacher at Wismar, 
pubhshed the last edition of the century, not a translation, but 
the English text, with notes from Ebert, to make the mastery 
of Young's dijfi&culties of style easy for all German students of 
EngUsh. 

I 802- I 903 

The edition of Hermann (1800) gives the keynote of the posi- 
tion assigned to Young from that time on — that chiefly of an 
academic problem. Only isolated editions appeared and quite 
independently of any movement for or against Young. The 
year 1802 brought a reprint of Eckert's 1 780-1 784 editions; 
Halem's Irene contained a blank verse translation of Night I, 
the next year; and the year 1805 saw the pubhcation of the 
last reprint of Ebert's 1780 edition. Selections translated by 
Schneller appeared in 181 2, and then no attempt seems to have 
been made to translate the "Night Thoughts" until 1825. In 
the meantime various short biographical sketches of Young were 
pubhshed in literary treatises, mostly of a bibliographical or 
academic nature. 



75 

The year 1825, however, produced two translations, both in 
the original meter : one by Schmidt in Dresden, comprising only 
the first six Nights ; the other by Bentzel Stemau of the complete 
nine Nights, published in Frankfort, and reprinted in Vienna, 
in 1827. 

The next attempt is made by EHse von Hohenhausen (1844), 
who painfully endeavors to reproduce Young line for line. The 
poetess, if her knowledge is typical of the period, shows that 
nearly all the translations of the "Night Thoughts" had been 
forgotten, even those of 1825, inasmuch as she claims that her 
translation is the first attempt at a rendition in German blank 
verse. Reprinted about 1874, this translation remains the very 
final one of the "Night Thoughts." 

With the exception of these translations, the " Night Thoughts" 
were since 1825 the subject of no special attention until toward 
the end of the century, when they were taken up for discussion 
and treatment in dissertations and school programs, magazine 
articles, and casual mention, as a phenomenon of the past, 
interesting for what they had been to preceding generations, not 
for what they mean to the present. 



2. Influence upon German Writers 

(a) The Swiss School and Didactic Poets 

The Swiss, having sprung into prominence thru their 
controversy with Gottsched, were exerting a potent influence 
upon the literary taste of the Germans at the tune when the 
"Night Thoughts" appeared. From about 1740 to 1755, they 
were the wonder and admiration of Germany and, in fact, their 
influence continued more or less up to the time of Bodmer's 
death (1783). Opposed to Gottsched's predilection for the 
French, the Swiss sought inspiration in the ancients, on one 
hand, and in the English, on the other. Against Gottsched's 
view that poetry is a mere matter of rules and correct form, 
Bodmer and his school looked upon poetry as the creation of 
the imagination and the passions, food for the heart. These 



76 

poetical ideas won the day, and thus EngUsh letters gained a 
welcome and a prestige that soon dominated all Germany. 

JoHANN Jakob Bodmer (1698- 1783) 

Bodmer, the principal figure of this group, early learned Eng- 
lish, and was led thru his study of Milton to other British 
writers and to Young, whom he does not mention until after 
the "Night Thoughts" had appeared.* His first contribution 
to the study of Young was published in the Neue Critische 
Brieje, in 1749, where the "Satires" and the "Night Thoughts" 
are introduced. These fragments are the first translation of 
verses of the "Night Thoughts" published in Germany. 

The hexameter epistle "An Sipha" is in part a translation, 
in part a paraphrase, of Night II, verses 461-537, and the selec- 
tions translated in a later article of the same periodical are from 
Night VI, verses 627-648, 677-689, in well-executed blank 
verse. The sentiments of these passages are judged superior 
to a similar passage in his own poems. The Crito^ in 1751, 
reviews Ebert's first translation and recommends the "Night 
Thoughts" very highly to its readers; it also publishes critical 
and moral remarks on the first Night. 

Bodmer's biblical epics and his tragedies were greatly in- 
fluenced by the "Night Thoughts." This is especially true of 
the "Noah." Ebert has ferreted out and cited in his edition 
thirty-five passages which show Young's influence. The minor 
epics, too, collected as the " Calliope," ^ show abundant in- 
fluence of the "Complaint," and the influence on the tragedy 
"Johanna Gray" is proved by Bodmer himself, when he cites 
passages which he owes to Young.'' It is, finally, interesting to 
note Bodmer's request, in 1765, for a copy of Ebert's annotated 
edition of the "Night Thoughts," that he might be able to see 
how many times and how exactly he has imitated Young.^ 

' Cf. infra, pp. 120-121 ; also, Bibliography, infra, 1749. 

' Cf. Bibliography, infra, 1751. ^ Zurich, 1767. 

* Cf . " Drey neue Trauerspiele." Zurich, 1 761 . " Johanna Gray," pp. 77, 89, 94. 

' Letter to Pfarrer Schinz in Altstatten, Aug. 30, 1765. 



77 



Albrecht von Haller (i 708-1777) 

Haller's " Lehrgedichte " exhibit the same serious, moralizing 
tone that characterizes the "Night Thoughts," but one can 
hardly speak of Young's influence on Haller's writings; for aU 
of his important poems antedate the "Night Thoughts," and 
the minor poems after 1741 are of httle consequence. 

Primarily a scientist, he was, however, deeply interested in 
Uterature and philology, and as editor of the Gotlmgische 
Gelehrte Anzeigen he rendered an invaluable service to literary 
criticism. Haller inspired translations of works of several im- 
portant writers,' among them Kayser's translation of the " Night 
Thoughts," ^ the preface of which is from a letter to him from 
Tschamer, written while in London the year before. His cor- 
respondence with Tschamer, especially the reply to the above- 
mentioned letter,^ shows deep interest in Young, and the review 
of Kayser's translation * shows clearly his predilection for 
Young's muse. 

Ebert cites twelve passages of the "tjber den Ursprung des 
Ubels" (1734), which have parallel thoughts in Young's "Com- 
plaint." ^ In view of this spiritual kinship it is futile to call 
later similarities influence. Haller was rather one of the spirits 
that paved the way for the "Night Thoughts" in Germany and 
promoted their influence. 

ViNCENZ Bernhard Tscharner (1728-1778) 

Tschamer was one of the pioneers in translating the "Night 
Thoughts." During his visit in England, in 1751, he spent 
four delightful days with Young at Welwyn, and his subsequent 
letter to Haller" gave the Germans the first definite data to 
satisfy their intense curiosity to know the identity of the persons 

^ "Albrecht von Hallers Gedichte." Dr. L. Hirzel. Frauenfeld, 1882, pp. 
cccxiii ff. 

^ Cf. Bibliography, infra, 1752, 1760-1761. 

^ Dated, Gottingen, March 28, 1751. 

* Cf. Bibliography, under Kayser's translation, infra, 1752. 

^ In the 1790-1794 annotated edition. ^ Cf. on Haller, supra. 



78 

and events treated in the "Night Thoughts." While in London 
Tschamer found time to translate the "Night Thoughts," at 
least in part, into German hexameters, the first Night of which 
has been preserved in Haller's correspondence, but was never 
published/ 

Of his youthful poems, " Freundschaftliches Geschenke," ^ 
the one entitled " Abend- Gedanken, von dem Zustande der 
Seele nach dem Tode" especially shows influence of Haller, 
Klopstock, and Young. His feehngs, altho sincere, are inclined 
to be mawkish with sentiment and are not always the result of 
real experience.^ 

Friedrich Carl Casimir von Creuz (i 724-1 770) 

Creuz, a melancholy soul, was especially susceptible to the 
influence of his contemporaries. Among the German poets, 
Klopstock and Haller, among the English, Young, exerted the 
greatest influence upon him. In common with Young he was 
of an exceedingly religious nature and very much given to 
rhetorical effects. His principal poem, "Die Graber" (1760), 
is written in a tone even gloomier than Young's and lacks the 
Christian hope which brightens Young's despair. Like Young, 
Creuz is full of repetitions ; he lacks constructive ability and is 
overcome by his feelings to such an extent that his train of 
thought is broken, his pictures remain vague and lose their 
effect. 

Ebert cites only two passages from Creuz that he considers 
influenced by the "Night Thoughts," * but this has further been 
increased by the investigations of Hartmann,^ Bion,^ and 
Barnstorff,' who cite innumerable parallels, so that one must 
not only agree with Hartmann, that Creuz was inspired by the 
"Night Thoughts" to write his "Graber," and with Barnstorff, 

* "Vincenz Bernhard Tschamer, von Gustav Tobler." Bern, 1895, p. 27. 
^ Printed as appendix to "Poesies choisies de M. de Haller, traduites en 

prose par M. de T. Gottingue, 1750." 

3 Cf. Tobler, I.e. p. 31. • Cf. ibid., 1894. 

* In the 1 790-1 794 edition. ' Cf. ibid., 1895. 

* Cf. Bibliography, infra, 1890. 



79 

who says that the "Graber" are, with all their differences, only 
a weak echo of the "Night Thoughts " ; but we can go further 
and pronounce them fairly teeming with thoughts from Young. 



(b) Gottsched and his Followers 
JoHANN Christopher Gottsched (i 700-1 766) 

Gottsched, whose attitude toward the English was not at all 
friendly, and who attacked the "Conjectures" severely,* was 
rather pleasantly disposed toward the "Night Thoughts." 
That he and his wife, "Louise Gottschedin," early became 
acquainted with Young's "Complaint," is proved by a letter 
from the latter to a friend in sorrow, whom she advises not to 
read Young too zealously, lest her grief be increased and her 
melancholy make Young's pictures seem even blacker than he 
intended them.^ 

Gottsched 's review, in 1757, of the anonymous, metrical 
translation that had appeared the year before, praises both the 
original and the translation, citing verses freely to prove its 
merits.^ And when this same translation was published, in 
1759, together with Nights I-II,* he likewise reviewed it with 
praise and admiration. They are miserable attempts, but Gott- 
sched's predilection for French Alexandrines made him partial 
to these rimed octameters, as we have seen, so that he preferred 
them to Ebert's "insipid" prose. That Gottsched is glad that 
the translator has retained the rime of the original does not 
speak well for his knowledge of the "Night Thoughts " ; neither 
does the fact that he had forgotten Kayser's translation of 1752, 
and did not recognize the "new" verse translation as the one 
he had reviewed before.^ But most peculiar of all is the fail- 
ure to mention the "Night Thoughts" in his "Handlexicon" 
of 1760.^ 

' Cf. supra, pp. 15-16. 

^ Letter to Fr. v. R., Leipzig, Aug. 22, 1752. 

^ Cf. Bibliography, infra, 1756. 

* Cf. ibid., 1759. 

' Cf. ibid., 1760. 



80 



Daniel Wilhelm Triller (1695- 1782) 

Altho Triller's poems of complaint and sorrow on the 
death of his wife, "Klage-und Trauergedichte," Wittenberg, 
1752, are worthless verses, they deserve mention here, because 
they show the early development of the desire to poetize grief, 
a tendency which can, to a large degree at least, be attributed 
directly to the "Night Thoughts." Triller confesses his infe- 
riority as a poet, but he says he can not but desire to erect a 
monument in his lowly song to the worthy memory of his de- 
parted spouse. 

Christoph Otto von Schonaich (i 725-1807) 

In his polemic, " Neologisches Worterbuch," * Schonaich 
cites "Pop und Jung" as " unsterbliche Namen — 

"Die, wie ein loser Schalk hinzusetzte, Namen, 
Die niemals unentweiht von B-dm-rs Lippen kamen." 

This apostrophe to Pope and Young was expurgated in the 
1765 edition.^ 

(c) The Group 0} the ^'Bremer Beitrdge" and Similar Poets 

The polemics between the Swiss and Leipzig schools de- 
generated into petty personahties and exposed Gottsched's 
weaknesses to his admirers. As a result they forsook him and 
formed a literary circle of their own. They also severed their 
connections with the periodical published by Gottsched's circle, 
Belustigungen des Verstandes und des Witzes, and as a 
means of publishing their productions they established their 
own periodical, Neue Beitrdge ziim Vergniigen des Verstandes 
und Witzes, usually called Bremer Beitrage from the fictitious 
place of publication. It appeared from 1744 to 1748, being 

^ "Die ganze Aesthetik in einer Nuss oder Neologisches Worterbuch von 
Christoph Otto Freiherrn von Schonaich," 1754. Reprinted in "Deutsche 
Litteratur-Denkmale des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts." Vols. LXX-LXXV. 
A. Koster. Cf. p. 335. ^ Cf. ibid., p. 536. 



81 

then continued desultorily by others until 1759. The purpose 
of the pubhshers was to keep aloof from all party polemics, 
to cultivate original composition and the translation of foreign 
works, submitting their contributions for the approval of the 
members. In order to insure proper, unprejudiced criticism, 
every contribution had to be published anonymously. They 
rejected French models and turned to the ancients and the Eng- 
lish for inspiration. Among the latter, the novels of Richardson 
and the "Night Thoughts" of Young nourished an elegiac, 
sentimental vein, which manifested itself in tearful, emotional 
gush over friendship and kindred themes.^ 

JoHANN Arnold Ebert (i 723-1 795) 

This professor of English in Braunschweig,^ the first trans- 
lator of the complete "Night Thoughts," one of the ablest 
German translators of English writers in the eighteenth cen- 
tury, and who devoted the best part of his life to the works of 
Young, learned English early and read all the foremost British 
authors in the original. Altho he was an ardent admirer of 
Young, he was not at all blind to the latter's faults, nor did he 
fail to appreciate the works of Young's fellow-countrymen. 

In 1744 he is reading the most prominent English authors, he 
writes to Hagedom,^ but he does not mention Young. Four 
years later he writes of "divine Thomson," he sighs for the 
latter's poem on freedom, he will never tire of reading Glover's 
"Leonidas," and weeps over it; he has copied nearly all the 
sublime passages of the "Night Thoughts," and speaks of a 
few inferior passages that he would willingly "buy out" of 
the work, so ardent is his admiration for this wonderful genius 
Young. He even excuses them, as a last resort, since he can 
not render them unwritten, on the ground that only so exalted 
a genius could make such errors. Pope will charm him to 
his dying day, he says. He writes of plans to translate various 

* Cf. the introduction by Franz Muncker to the " Bremer Beitrage." Vol. 
XLIII of Kiirschner's " Deutsche National-Litteratur." 

* Appointed instructor at the CaroHneum in 1748, professor in 1753. 
^Letter to Hagedorn. Leipzig, July 29, 1744. 



82 

English authors, but does not include Young ! ^ In fact we 
do not hear of his translation until the next year.^ In an un- 
dated letter to Young,^ he writes that he has had Young in his 
thoughts fifteen years, and has been translating the "Night 
Thoughts" about ten years. This would place his first ac- 
quaintance with the work in or about the year 1746.* 

Ebert's letters to Young are filled with the mawkishness 
characteristic of the times and furnish a vivid picture of his 
unbounded esteem for the author of the "Night Thoughts,"^ 
all of which Young accepts with thanks, complimenting Ebert, 
in return, on his perfect English,® and hoping they may meet 
in heaven. 

Beginning with the year 1751, Ebert published translations 
of the "Night Thoughts" and other works of Young, constantly 
revising them until 1794, the year before his death. Other 
editions appeared even after he had laid aside his pen forever.'' 
The notices of Ebert's courses at the CaroHneum in Braun- 
schweig repeatedly announce the critical interpretation of the 
"Night Thoughts," and all contemporary writers, commen- 
tators, and periodicals join in the universal acclamation and 
praise over the zeal, scholarship, and merit of the "foremost 
and greatest English scholar and genius," the translator of 
the "Night Thoughts." 

Ebert, in spite of, or perhaps rather on account of his ardent 
admiration of Young,* attempted no poem in imitation of him. 
The style and nature of his poetry is utterly different from that 
of Young. His longer poems are epistles called forth by some 

* Letter to Hagedorn. Leipzig, Jan. 15, 1748. 

' Letter of Gleim to E. v. Kleist, Halberstadt, Aug. 24, 1749. 
^ Most likely written in the winter of 1 760-1 761. 

* The year following the completion of the " Night Thoughts," and the time 
of the first notices in Germany. The beginning of his translation would thus 
have to be placed in 1 749-1 750. 

* Young was chosen, he writes, "by the all-gracious providence of God" 
to be his guide in heaven, where he hopes he may be allowed to mix his " tears 
of joy with those of all the blessed souls" to whom Young's excellent writings 
have been a means of salvation. 

° Ebert's correspondence with Glover and Ferguson also shows how highly 
these writers esteemed his culture and taste. 
' Cf. Bibliography, infra. 

* Cf. Ebert's poem on Young (1760). Cf. Bibliography, infra, 1789. 



83 



ephemeral occasion and amount to little as poetry. His gen- 
eral note is one of lightness, buoyancy, and love of nature. His- 
early poems (i 740-1 747) contain twenty-three anacreontics, 
and this anacreontic tone appears in his later verses too. We 
look in vain for unconscious adaptations of thoughts from 
Young. The same painstaking care to enlighten his readers 
that IS seen thruout the copious commentary on the "Night 
Thoughts" and "Satires," led Ebert to inform his readers from 
what source he drew his ideas. Thus the footnotes cite all pas- 
sages where Young is mentioned, adapted, imitated, or evea 
thought of. 

Ebert's services were very valuable for the development of 
the German language and hterature. Germany had no good 
prose, in fact it had but few monuments of hterature. Ebert 
introduced poetical inspiration from abroad and set a worthy^ 
model for smooth, harmonious, rhythmic prose. 

JOHANN Adolf Scm-EGEL (1721-1793) 

Ebert cites four passages of Schlegel's sermons that have 
parallels in the "Night Thoughts" ; also the kindred sentiments 
m the epic poem "Der Unzufriedene " ; and no doubt Schlegel 
owes to Young much of his serious vein.^ Young's favorite 
themes are found in Schlegel; there is the same praise of the 
Creator, celebration of friendship, love of virtue, and serious 
consideration of death and immortaHty that characterizes 
the "Night Thoughts"; but it is an extensive reflection of 
Young, rather than a tangible, verbal correspondence. 

JoHANN Andreas Cramer (1723-1788) 

It is not necessary to look further than the article written 
by Cramer in his periodical, in 1758,' to see that he was one of 
the most ardent admirers of Young. He considered Young 

' Cf. Max Koch: "Uber die Beziehungen der englischen Litteratur zur 
deutschen im achtzehnten Jahrhundert." Leipzig, 1883, pp. 19 flf. 

^ Der Nordische Aujseher, Kopenhagen und Leipzig. Vol. I, St. 13, pp. 
158-182. Cf. also, Bibliography, injra, 1758. 



84 

a genius not only far superior to Milton, but among mankind 
the one nearest the spirit of David and the Prophets. He gave 
the "Night Thoughts" second place to the Book of Revelation 
only, in their sublime influence upon his soul. The same 
article contains an analysis of the "Night Thoughts" with 
frequent quotations from Ebert's translation, which he praises 
warmly. Cramer's sermons are replete with maxims and cita- 
tions taken from the "Night Thoughts," and his poems, too, 
were greatly influenced by the Briton. Like Schlegel, Cramer 
as theologian deals principally with Young's favorite themes, 
the treatment of which betrays close acquaintance with the 
"Night Thoughts." 

Nikolas Dietrich Giseke (1724-1765) 

Altho Giseke writes of whiling away the time of grief 
with "night thoughts,"^ that can only serve to show that he 
read Young, a fact that could safely be assumed for him as one 
of the group of the Bremer Bcitrdge. Giseke had a special 
penchant for poems upon the death of friends and others, and 
these memorials exhibit certain traits common to Young's philos- 
ophy. There is this cardinal difference, however, between the 
two poets: where Young bewails the loss of his kin in exag- 
gerated, inconsolable grief, Giseke is simple and direct in style, 
and evinces a healthy, manly spirit that is free from Young's 
wail. It may be characterized by the following passages : — 

"Wie billig haltst Du ietzt den Gram fiir Deine Pflicht: 
Doch unterliegen muss ein edles Herze nicht!" 

"Also sammelt Gott seine Geliebten. Nicht einen von Ihnen 
Lasst er zuruck in den Thalern der Miih' ! Er sammelt alle." 

This strain runs thru all his poems ; it is consolation rather 
than complaint. The theme of friendship is a favorite with 
him, and the treatment of this approaches more closely Young's 
more buoyant moods. 

' "Poetische Werke," C. Ch. Gartner. Braunschweig, 1767. Cf. the 6th 
"Brief," p. 404. Does he mean Young's "Night Thoughts"? 



85 



Friedrich Wilhelm Zachaeiae (1726-177 7) 

As a colleague of Ebert at the Carolineum, Zachariae was 
brought into close touch with English poets, and his transla- 
tions of Milton and Warton attest his interest in English litera- 
ture. In his correspondence we find him early an admirer of 
Young, but the most direct proofs of his interest are found 
in his verses themselves. We have the word of his friend Ebert 
that the most remarkable correspondence in Zachariae's poems, 
in which he expresses almost verbatim the opening of the '' Night 
Thoughts," is a mere coincidence. But there are other pas- 
sages in his poems, written after his acquaintance with the 
"Complaint," that are modelled after Young. The poems 
"Die Erscheinungen" and "Die Nacht" show this influence 
especially, and even " Die Tageszeiten," an imitation of Thom- 
son's "Seasons," mentions Young. But the poem "Die Nacht" 
shows the greatest influence of the "Night Thoughts," and not 
only mentions Young and Ebert in glowing tributes, but bor- 
rows Young's pictures in describing the night, and makes 
free use of passages of the "Night Thoughts." 

CmilSTIAN FiJECHTEGOTT GeLLERT (1715-1769) 

Gellert learned English from Ebert and so naturally studied 
Young's "Night Thoughts." His correspondence refers con- 
stantly to Young and furnishes us with one of the best contem- 
porary pictures of the universal interest taken in the author of 
the "Night Thoughts." Gellert's moral essays teach Young's 
philosophy and were a potent factor in spreading interest in the 
"Complaint" in Germany. He often cites Young and on one 
occasion criticises the "Night Thoughts" in words of ardent 
admiration.^ So potent and widespread was Gellert's influence, 
that contemporary critics attributed to him directly the "moral 
prattle" that allowed Young to become so popular in Germany, 
and made him responsible for the warm reception accorded to 
Ebert's translation. Young and Gellert had ruined taste, they 

* " Sammtliche Schriften." Leipzig, 1867. Vol. VI, p. 180. 



86 

claimed, and to the Litteraturhrieje was due the credit of effect- 
ing the reaction against this barbaric Gellertomanie} 

In view of the intense interest taken by Gellert in Young, 
one would look for tangible influence of the Briton upon the 
German moralist; but the similarity is in most cases to be 
attributed to kinship of thought and purpose rather than to 
direct imitation. At least, Gellert beheved himself free from 
imitation, and any use of Young was unconscious. The pas- 
sages that seem traceable to Young are very likely accidental, 
and owe their origin rather to that part of Young that Gellert 
had so thoroly digested that it had become part and parcel 
of his own mental resources. 

JOHANN WiLHELM LUDWIG GlEIM (1719-1803) 

One of the first German writers to discuss the "Night 
Thoughts" was Gleim. In a letter to Uz, as early as 1746, he 
writes that " the English seem to have the Horatian ode in sev- 
eral poetical types; for example, the ' Neight-Thoughts ' of 
^ D. Joung,' the continuation of which is said to have appeared, 
seem to lack nothing but a better meter, a plan, and different 
rhythm to be an ode." ^ This shows that Gleim had been 
following and studying the "Night Thoughts" as they appeared 
in England. Later in the same year he recommends that the 
Germans discard rime and enjoy the same freedom that Enghsh 
has in its blank verse, and again cites the "Night Thoughts." ^ 
In 1749, he announces to E. von Kleist that Ebert is translating 
the "Night Thoughts," and praises both the original and the 
unpublished translation.* 

Two years later a reaction has set in ; he does not admire the 
poem as much as formerly; the great artificiality of style has 

' " Ueber den Werth einiger Deutscher Dichter," etc. Frankfurt und Leip- 
zig, 1771. Mauvillon und Unzer. 14th "Brief," pp. 301-312. 

^ " Briefwechsel zwischen Gleim und Uz," C. Schiiddekopf. In " Biblio- 
thek des litterarischen Vereins in Stuttgart." Vol. CCXVIII, p. m. Cf. 
letter, dated Berlin, June 30, 1746. 

^ Cf. ibid., p. 134, letter, dated Berlin, Nov. 22, 1746. 

* " Kleists Werke," A. Sauer. Berlin. Theil 3, p. 108. Cf. letter, dated 
Halberstadt, Aug. 24, 1749. 



87 

never pleased him, he writes, and now he discovers entirely 
too many false thoughts which have no foundation of truth 
whatsoever. 

Uz had criticised Young to Ebert, who was translating the 
''Night Thoughts" at the time, and Gleim conjectures that 
this did not please the translator. The translation Gleim pro- 
nounces unimpeachable and says Young has become a German 
original thru Ebert ; but he regrets that Ebert did not choose 
a worthier poet to translate.^ And yet, in 1761, he thanks 
Zachariae for Ebert's new translation and says he now thinks 
day and night in the "Night Thoughts," as Klopstock did.' 

But the "Night Thoughts" found no soil in Gleim's poetical 
field, to take root and spring up in imitation or influence. 
Gleim's muse was not compatible with Young's, the two poets 
had nothing in common ; their philosophy of life was different, 
as is attested by Gleim himself, when he refused Young the 
recognition that he would gladly accord to even Ebert : " Young 
is no savior of men ; I will not erect a monument to him. His 
translator Ebert would receive a memorial for his cheerful 
songs sooner than Young for his black 'Night Thoughts.'"^ 

JoHANN Peter Uz (i 720-1 796) 

In his earlier years a lyric poet of the anacreontic school, 
during his whole life a follower and admirer of the French and 
ancient classics, opposed to the English authors of his own 
tunes, Uz, nevertheless, was one of the first German poets to 
study the "Night Thoughts." As early as 1747, in the very 
midst of his anacreontic period, we find him busy with Young's 
poem, writing his criticisms to Gleim." The style of the "Night 
Thoughts" seems to him sinnlich, but, as one might expect 
of him, a lyric poet of so light a vein, not simple enough. The 

' Cf. " Briefwechsel," etc., I.e. p. 229. Cf. letter, dated Aug. 29, 1751. 

^ Letter, dated Jan. 25, 1761. Cf. Neiie Jahrbiicher fiir Philologie und 
Paedagogik. Vol. CXIV, p. 411. 

3 "Briefe von den Herren Gleim und Jacobi." Berlin, 1768. Vol. I, 
p. 297. Letter to J. G. Jacobi, Feb. 17, 1768. 

* As appears from Gleim's letters, the two poets had for years been reading 
and discussing the "Night Thoughts" as the various Nights appeared. 



88 

most elaborate odes of Horace, he writes, are not so rich in 
bold figures. Such superfluity does not please him, especially 
since he doubts their correctness.^ 

In 1 75 1, he has read Ebert's translation with pleasure, but 
again complains of the complex, ornate style of Young and the 
other Britons, as compared with the simplicity and good taste 
of the ancients. He thinks the prevailing German imitation 
of such writers will corrupt German poetry anew.^ But as 
he develops. Young seems to satisfy him better ; for three years 
later he calls Ebert's translation beautiful, and thinks Young 
has outdone himself in the last Night.^ 

The further Uz developed his more serious side, the more 
Young could find response in his muse, and so it is very natural 
to find as motto of the first letter of his " Versuch iiber die Kunst 
stets frohlichzu seyn" (1760),^ a sentiment from the "Centaur," 
while the fourth letter is introduced by a passage from the 
"Night Thoughts," i.e. from Night the fourth. Ebert himself 
cited no less than nineteen passages of his friend's poems that 
show kinship with Young, and there is no doubt much influence, 
but even here only the lighter, brighter strains in Young's gloom 
found response in Uz. 

JOHANN FrIEDRICH VON CrONEGK (1731-1757/8) 

Associated with the writers of the Bremer Beiirdge, Cronegk, 
having learned English, naturally was deeply interested in the 
"Night Thoughts." His " Lehrgedichte " show influence of 
Young, but it is in the two poems "Einsamkeiten," written 
in loneliness, separated from his friend and his sweetheart, and 
after the death of his mother (1757), that we find the greatest 
influence. Young's muse is invoked, phrases and sentences are 
taken over bodily, and the whole work shows imitation and 

* "Briefwechsel zwischen Gleim und Uz." Cf. I.e. p. 155, letter, dated 
Jan. 19, 1747. 

^ Cf. ibid., p. 224. 

^ Westermann's Monatshejte, Vol. II, p. 102. Cf. letter, dated Nov. 18, 
1754. 

* In the epistle to Ebert (1755) Young is named; he sings in a manly tone, 
even when he weeps, Cf. verses 107-108. 



89 

borrowing from Young on every page. Cronegk's figures, 
even where modelled after Young, are plainer and inferior, and 
his complaints seem to smack of the lucubrations of the times 
rather than to represent spontaneous grief. Mendelssohn, 
provoked at this addition of " Einsamkeiten " to the already 
superfluous crop of melancholy poetry, pronounces this genre 
imitation of Young and inveighs bitterly against such inane, 
affected grief.^ 

Friedrich von Hagedorn (i 708-1 754) 

Hagedom said of the two years spent in England (i 729-1 731), 
that they were the only two years of his life that he wished to 
live over again. He was intensely interested in English litera- 
ture, but Pope, Shaftesbury, and Prior are his models. The 
writers of the Bremer Beitrdge loved and honored him as a 
father, and his interest in the EngHsh, combined with the in- 
fluence of their intimate relations with the Swiss school, furthered 
their English studies; but his light, anacreontic muse had 
nothing in common with Young's "Complaint." Yet even 
he has left behind a testimonial of his interest in the "Night 
Thoughts" in a letter to Ebert, which says, "One can not read 
your translation of the 'Night Thoughts' without the most 
grateful thanks for your successful labors." ^ 



{d) The Gottingen League {Dichterhund) 

These writers, united thru their intense admiration for 
Klopstock, stand in their somber, melancholy elements more 
on the side of Klopstock himself. Among the foreign writers, 
they were influenced by Gray, Akenside, and Ossian, and 
altho Young was a favorite of some of them, the tangible 
influence that came from the "Night Thoughts" is very meager. 

1 Cf. Brieje, die mueste Litteratur betrejjend. 207th "Brief." 1761. 

2 Feb. 14, 1753. 



90 



Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (1724-1803) 

Of Germany's greatest poets of the eighteenth century, Klop- 
stock was the most sympathetically alHed to Young in spirit 
and purpose. Both were of the narrower religious type and 
sought to spread their views in didactic verse. His associa- 
tions with the contributors to the Bremer Beitrage, and espe- 
cially with Ebert, led Klopstock to the Enghsh of the day, and 
as early as 1748 he cites a passage out of the "Night Thoughts" 
in a letter to Bodmer.^ Likewise the next year he consoles 
Sucro, thru a letter to Gleim, with a verse from Young.^ 
But this acquaintance must have been based upon the inter- 
vention of friendly help, rather than independently upon the 
study of the original, or else his statement, when he writes in 
1752 that he has just begun the study of EngUsh from Young's 
works,' must not be taken too hterally. His letters as late as 
1773 evince the greatest admiration for Young; he exchanged 
some ardent letters with Young himself and also sought inter- 
course indirectly in his wife's letters to Richardson. Young's 
letters to Klopstock are full of the warmest thanks and appre- 
ciation. In 1752, while busily engaged in reading the "Night 
Thoughts" in the original, Klopstock wrote his ode to Young, 
which shows the depth of his admiration for the aged author 
of the "Night Thoughts." 

In his treatise "Von der heiligen Poesie," pubHshed in the 
early editions of the "Messias,"* he pronounces the "Night 
Thoughts" the "only work of the more sublime poetry that 
would deserve to be without fault," and writes further with the 
most ardent admiration. The death, soon after their marriage, 
of Meta,^ drew Klopstock closer than ever to Young's "Com- 
plaint" and made him still more subject to influence from that 
source. 

* Langensalza, Oct. 19, 1748. ^ Kopenhagen, July 13, 1751. 
^ Letter to Gleim, Kopenhagen, April 9, 1752. 

* Halle edition, 1760. Accessible in Back and Spindler's " Sammtliche 
Sprachwissenschaftliche und asthetische Schriften." Vol. IV, Leipzig, 1830. 
Cf. also, ibid., pp. 1 15-122, and Klopstock's "Sammtliche Werke," Goschen. 
Leipzig, 1844. Vol. V, p. 47. 

' Married 1754. Her death occurred in 1758. 



91 

Ebert cites sixty-one passages that show Young's influence 
upon the "Messias,"* and this is increased by scores in Hamel's 
recent investigations ; ^ and Bamstorff adds still more.^ Al- 
tho Milton was Klopstock's model, there is no doubt that 
Young's influence was as potent as has been claimed by modem 
critics, as well as by the contemporaries, C. F. Cramer and 
Clodius. It is the lyric element in Young that attracted him 
as to form, but there is this cardinal difference between the 
two poets: Young is free from mysticism, whereas Klopstock 
is inclined to it.* Klopstock's odes, of his earlier period es- 
pecially, and other poems, as well as his prose writings, all 
show abundantly the influence of Young's didactic, reUgious 
muse. 

Friedrich Leopold Gxjnther Gockengk (i 748-1828) 

The light, idyllic, and often anacreontic muse of Gockingk 
had no desire to express itself in morose complaints. His 
satirical vein was nourished by his associations with MichaeHs, 
who, too, was hostile to Young. Gockingk's satire "Gold- 
durst" betrays familiarity with Young's "Love of Fame," ^ 
and the verses entitled "Die Nachtgedanken-Schmierer" are 
undoubtedly directed against Young's followers in Germany : — 

"Bei Grabern und bei alten Kirchemnauem 
Will Stentor kiinftig trauern. 
Der Dinge natiirlicher Lauf ! 
Denn heute kiindigt' ihm sein Wirth die Wohnung auf !" ' 

Likewise the poem "An den Tod," written after the death 
of his wife (1814), seems especially directed against Young's 
"Complaint": — 

"Wohl sollt' ich itzt nach dir mich heiserrufen! 
Den Traurigen bist du ein Gut ! 

1 Klopstock told Ebert that he used to read the Psalms and the Prophets, 
and the " Night Thoughts," for inspiration while working on his " Messias." 
Cf. Ebert's "Epistein und vermischte Gedichte." Hamburg, 1789, p. 298. 

2 Kurschner's "D.N.L." Vol. XLVI. * C£. infra p. 123. 

3 Cf. Barnstorff, I.e. pp. 36-37. « " Sinngedichte." Leipzig, 
* Cf. ibid., p. 34. 1778. P- 84. 



92 

AUein hinan des Lebens letzte Stufen ! 
Denn diess will grossem Muth. 

Was schwerer ist, war immer meine Sache. 

Wie? dennoch wollt' ich schon hinab, 

Gleich einem Weib', auf meinem Thranenbache 

Mich schwemmen an das Grab?" 
******* 

"Ha! kann mein Dulden ihre Ruhe mehren: 
So soil die Trauer gehn ! " 

But a little later a change has taken place in the poet of 
seventy. The French harass and plunder his house, and then, 
in his trials and tribulations, his muse is his only consolation. 
In the poem "An die Dichtkunst" (1817) he pays a glowing 
tribute to the faithfulness of the muse: — 

"Doch auch da ^ hast du mich Trauernden nimmer verlassen, 
Durch die Harfe Young's giitig beschwichtigt den Gram, 
Wog ich Leben und Tod mit der Sterblichkeit Wage, 

O wie dunkte mich dann Leben und Sterben so leicht!"^ 

Friedrich Leopold Stolberg (1750-1819) 

Stolberg was one of the most thoro students and ardent 
admirers of Young,^ as is proved by the numerous passages in 
his letters cited by Jansscn in his compilation on the life-work 
of the Count.'* Letters to his brother, sister, and others, written 
upon occasions of sorrow and joy, Uterary criticism and political 
conditions, have recourse to citations from Young for corrobora- 
tion.^ Still one looks in vain for influence of Young upon the 
poems of Stolberg, in spite of his love for both Klopstock and 

* During the French invasion. 

^ " Gedichte. Neue verb. u. verm. Ausgabe." Frankfurt, 1821. 

^ This influence began in his home training; for we learn that his mother 
spent the whole day before the birth of a younger brother (1761) reading the 
seventh Night. For this son the Countess chose Dr. Young to be sponsor, an 
office that he accepted as a very high honor, hoping to meet his little godson in 
heaven. Cf. Ebert's undated letter to Young and Young's reply, in Ebert's 
"Episteln und vermischte Gedichte." Hamburg, 1795, pp. 79-80, 84. 

* "Friedrich Leopold Graf zu Stolberg. Sein Entwicklungsgang und sein 
Wirken im Gebiete der Kirche." J. Janssen. Dritte Auflage. Freiburg, 
1882. 

* Cf. ibid., pp. 32-33, 43. 251, 273, 404, 455. etc. 



93 

Young. His poems are odes, ballads, and sonnets, largely 
occasioned by particular incidents, many written upon the 
death of relatives and friends. The poet wanders and sings 
in the night-time, but he never descends into the depths of the 
"Night Thoughts." He is buoyant even when afflicted with 
grief, and the light touches of sorrow remind one of Ossian 
rather than of Young. Even the sublimest and most philosoph- 
ical of his poems, the one that shows the greatest depth and 
genius, " Die Zukunft," ^ does not remind one of Young, al- 
tho some nature descriptions have an Ossianic touch.^ 

In the third volume of his works, verses from various authors 
are used as mottoes for the poems, but Young is not included.^ 
Perhaps the correct hint for this lack of influence and imitation 
may be found in the couplet "An einen Nachahmer": — 

"Kannst, armes Wichtchen, du nichts anders, als nachahmen, 
So musst du wenigstens nachgehen, und nicht nachlahmen." * 

At all events Stolberg did not practise imitation of others. 



(e) Philosophical Poets 

Martin Crugot (i 725-1 790) 

Here it is the philosophically religious work " Der Christ in der 
Einsamkeit" (1756) that interests us. Immediately upon its ap- 
pearance a periodical pointed out its similarity to Young ; ^ and 
a French translation is said to have borne upon its title-page 
the inscription "Par I'auteur des Nuits de Young."® Ebert, 
too, saw influence of Young in this work of Crugot and cited 
six examples. Crugot philosophizes over life, death, and im- 
mortaUty in Young's manner, but he is less abstruse and ornate. 
Night is his favorite time for meditation, and only in lonely 

* Written 1 779-1 782, but not published until 1885, in Archiv jiir Litteraturge- 
schichte. Vol. XIII, pp. 82-115, 251-272. 

' Cf. ibid., p. 90. 

' "Gesammelte Werke." Hamburg, 1827. 

* Cf. ibid., Vol. II, p. 112. 

' Schlesische Berichte von gelehrten Sachen. Vol. XXIV, 1756. 

* Cf. BarnstorfF, l.c. p. 64. 



94 

surroundings does he feel at home with himself. The influence 
is beyond a doubt very strong, altho, on account of the 
inherent difference between philosophical thought and poetry 
in a philosophical vein, it is confined to thought rather than 
shown in form.^ 

JOHANN GeORG ZiMMERMANN ( 1 728- 1 795) 

Zimmermann likewise celebrates the theme of solitude and 
has many points in common with Young. His earlier writings 
" Betrachtungen iiber die Einsamkeit" (1756) and "Von der 
Einsamkeit" (1773) and the later final work "Uber die Ein- 
samkeit" (i 784-1 785) are written in this vein. But is it not 
significant that the author cites numerous writers : Cicero, Plato, 
Plutarch, Horace, Diogenes, etc.; among the EngUsh, Pope, 
Johnson, Bacon, and others, but does not mention Young? 
The correspondence between the thoughts here expressed and 
similar ones in Young are even vaguer than in the case of 
Crugot, and one is rather inclined to look upon this as a simi- 
larity of philosophy of life and not as a case of direct influence. 

JOHANN KaSPAR LaVATER (1741-1801) 

Lavater's work " Aussichten in die Ewigkeit" deals philosoph- 
ically with the same themes found in the "Night Thoughts." 
But Lavater says in his first epistle that he can not consider 
Young's "Night Thoughts," however excellent they are, since 
they deal more with immortality of the soul in general than 
with the nature of immortal life ; ^ and further, that Young's 
arguments can not convince him of the immortality of the soul.^ 
Likewise, in the second part, he mentions Young twice and 

* Against Crugot's work was directed " Der wahre Christ in der Einsamkeit," 
by Karl Friedrich Bahrdt (1741-1792), Halle, 1762; Leipzig, 1764, — a work 
written in a more cheerful mood and showing joy in life, rather than consolation 
in solitude and in thoughts of death. Then, in turn, there appeared two pam- 
phlets against Bahrdt, which it was not possible to find : " Etwas an Herrn 
M(agister) K. Fr. Bahrdt, seinen verbesserten Christen in der Einsamkeit 
betreffend," Berlin, 1764; and "Zwei Briefe an M. K. Fr. Bahrdt, iiber seinen 
verbesserten Christen in der Einsamkeit." Breslau, 1764. 

^ Cf. second edition, Hamburg, 1773, p. 5. ^ Cf. ibid., p. 2^. 



95 

allows part of the "Night Thoughts" to stand along with 
Racine as the only examples of poems written for the glory of 
the truth of the best religion.* 

The real influence of Young upon Lavater appears earlier 
in life. G. Gessner, in his life of Lavater,^ gives letters that 
prove zealous study of Young. What Lavater says here of 
time and eternity is an echo of Young. Further, an entry in 
his journal, in 1763, tells of a visit with his friend Spalding in 
Barth, during which they discussed the gain in cultivatmg such 
serious poetry as Young's "Night Thoughts" and Klopstock's 
"Messias," as opposed to the loss of time devoted to trifling, 
childish poetry. 

(/) Other Writers 

JoHANN Jakob Dusch (i 725-1 787) 

The first article written by Dusch on Young is a harsh review, 
in 1759, of Ebert's translation.^ Piqued by the shortcomings 
found in his own translation of Pope, as we have seen, and 
covetous of the universal praise that was being accorded Ebert's 
rendition of the "Night Thoughts," Dusch translated the 
"Resignation" in 1763.^ 

In the second part of his "Briefe zur Bildung des Ge- 
schmacks"^ he has a long critique of the "Night Thoughts," 
which shows that he admired the work to a degree that made 
him blind to its faults and exposed him to censure.® And so 
it is not surprising to see his work on the immortality of the 
soup draw upon Young's "Night Thoughts." This influence 
was pointed out in a contemporary review, which dwelt upon 
the inferiority of Dusch to Young.* 

In the introduction to his works, Dusch characterizes the 

* Cf. ibid., Vorrede, pp. vi, xiv. 

2 " Lebensbeschreibung von G. Gessner." Winterthur, 1802, Chapter VIII. 

3 In "Briefe an Freunde," etc. Cf. Bibliography, injra, 1759. 

* Cf. Bibliography, injra, 1763. 
" Cf. ibid., 1765. 

* Allgemeine deutscke Bihliothek. 1768. Vol. VII, ii, pp. 142-159. 
' " Sammtliche Poetische Werke," Part I. Altona, 1765. 

* Allgemeine deutsche Bihliothek, 1767. Vol. V, i, pp. 2-8. 



96 

"Night Thoughts" as follows, "Solemn, exalted, majestic, 
the characteristic tone being the hyperbole." ^ He states that 
he has indicated all passages in which he himself is conscious 
of any imitation; accordingly, there are many footnotes refer- 
ring to Shakspere, Milton, Addison, etc., and in his poem 
"Die Wissenschaf ten " three notes cite passages from Young.^ 

JoHANN Georg Ham ANN (1730-1788) 

That Hamann thought all his opinions a mere afterbirth 
of Young's "Night Thoughts," and that he considered all his 
caprices impregnated with Young's figures, we have already 
seen,^ as also the fact that there are few ideas that can safely 
be traced directly to the "Night Thoughts."^ Hamann often 
mentions the "Night Thoughts" in his writings, and always 
with favor, frequently citing from them. 

In 1756, his mother died and he gave expression to his grief 
in the eulogy, " Denkmal," which bears as motto the following 
sentiment from Young's "Night Thoughts": "He mourns 
the Dead, who lives as they desire. Die beste Trauer um die 
Todten ist ein Wandel nach ihrem Sinn." ^ This expression 
of grief reminds one of Young's "Complaint," altho it is 
in plain, direct prose. The influence of Young was asserted as 
early as 1762 by Thomas Abbt, who saw in the work the same 
style, thoughts, and transition from one subject to the other.* 

Heinrich Wilhelm von Gerstenberg (i 737-1823) 

Gerstenberg stands in peculiar relations to Young. A critic 
and student of the drama, enthusiastic over Shakspere, he 
belongs to Young's school for the promulgation of original 
genius, as has been seen,^ and, on the other hand, he defends 
both Young's "Night Thoughts" and their German imitators. 

^ Cf. "Werke," I.e. pp. xxiii, xliv. ^ Cf. supra, p. 29. 

^ Cf. ibid., 68, 89, 121-122. " Cf. supra, p. 40. 

^ Konigsberg, den 16. des Heumonats, 1756. Cf. "Schriften." Roth. 
Vol. II, pp. 329-338. 

' Letter to Mendelssohn, June 21, 1762. ' Cf. supra, pp. 22-26. 



97 

His poems show the influence of Ossian/ not Young, to be sure, 
but he espouses the cause of Young against the opponents 
who attack the "Night Thoughts" and their influence. 

In the Briefe iiber Merkwiirdigkeiten der Litter atur (1766) ^ 
Gerstenberg compares the Danish poet Tullin with Young and 
Pope, in words that attest his high esteem of Young. He says, 
"You can easily see that I must have a high opinion of him 
(Tullin), when I give him so exalted a rank," i.e. compare him 
with Young. His reviews, too, in the Hamburgische neue 
Zeitungen (1767-1771)^ mention the "Night Thoughts" many 
times and always with admiration. He takes sides with Young 
against Gleim who would not give Young a memorial,* and 
against Jacobi for his declamations on the damage that Young 
had done with the "Night Thoughts ";^ and, finally, he objects 
to the improper joke" on the "Night Thoughts" in the German 
translation of the Frenchman Moissy's "Spiele der kleinen 
Thalia" (1770).' 

Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart (1739-1791) 

Schubart knew Young's "Night Thoughts" intimately, altho 
only in translation. He writes to his brother-in-law Bockh 
of the books added to his library by some friends during his 
absence, and among them he mentions the "Night Thoughts" 
with special emphasis.^ In a letter to Wieland, the next year, 
he enumerates his demands of a poet : only that poet is really 
great, who uses his talents to promote virtue and religion. 
Among the modern poets, those who have done so have been 
more successful by far than those who forsook the paths of virtue 

* "Ossian in Germany." R. Tombo, Jr., Columbia University Germanic 
Studies. Vol. I, No. 2. New York, 1901, pp. 105-119. 

^ "Deutsche Litteraturdenkmale." Vol. XXIX, pp. 1 71-175, 
3 Cf. ibU., Vol. CXXVIII. 

* Cf. ibid., p. 268; also supra, p. 87. 
5 Cf. ibid., pp. 338-339. 

" This joke still circulates in America. Frequently to the present day, book 
agents, more ambitious than scrupulous, have sold Young's " Night Thoughts" 
to ignorant, unsuspecting readers as an obscene work. 

' Cf. "Deutsche Litteraturdenkmale," I.e. p. 393. 

'Letter, dated Aalen, July 23, 1763. Cf. "Schubart's Leben in seinen 
Briefen." Strauss. Berlin, 1849. Vol. I, pp. 28-29. 



98 

and religion. Such successful poets are Milton, Klopstock, 
Young, and Wieland.* 

Young's moralizing philosophy and depth of thought found 
a responsive chord in Schubart's fantastic, mystic nature and 
exerted a great influence upon his poetry. Further, he is in 
sympathy with the imitators of Young. He writes to Haug 
(1763) ^ that he is tired of all the parodies on the "Christian 
in Solitude" and is glad to see something new. The poems of 
Schubart that especially show influence of Young are the songs 
of death, "Todesgesange," pubUshed in 1767. Here and in 
others we find many thoughts of death and the grave, time 
and immortality, and other themes of Young. 

Karl Ludwig Knebel (i 744-1834) 

Knebel's biographer tells us that the poet in his youth was 
saved from the abyss of doubt and uncertainty by the "Night 
Thoughts," which had been recommended to him by his 
brother. Young held him spellbound for a considerable 
period, and Knebel continued to devour the "Night Thoughts" 
up to the time when he entered the University of Halle ; and he 
was inclined, as a result of this reading, to the study of theology.^ 

Much of Knebel's poetry is of a serious vein, nature poetry, 
which shows the influence of Thomson. Schiller's philosophy 
is also unmistakable, and such poems as the "Hymnus an die 
Sonne," "Hymnus an die Erde," " Hymnus an den Geist der 
Erde," are suggestive of Young's rhetorical style, ending in a 
memento mori as the poet turns to thoughts of the grave and 
of the life hereafter. 

Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (i 751-1792) 

The great influence that Young had upon Lenz has been 
admirably sketched by Anwand in his recent contribution to 

^ Cf. " Schubart's Leben in seinen Briefen." Strauss. Berlin, 1849. Vol. 
I, pp. 54-55- 

^ Letter, dated Aalen, July 15, 1763. He refers to Crugot's " Einsamkeit." 
Cf. supra, p. 93. 

^ " K. L. Knebel's Leben von Th. Mundt," in Knebel's " Nachlass." Leip- 
zig, 1835, pp. xi, xiii. 



99 

the study of the poems of Lenz.* The author shows how the 
natural hypochondriacal tendency of Lenz's youth was increased 
by the reading of the "Night Thoughts." The verbal resem- 
blances are very few and vague, but the themes in general are 
entirely under the spell of the "Complaint," and prove how 
thoroly the German poet imbibed the philosophy of the 
Enghsh bard. Death is the teacher of life for both poets, the 
redeemer to be welcomed, not feared. 

Altho not so evident at first glance, Lenz nevertheless 
occupies a position similar to that of Young as moral preacher, 
admonishing to repentance before it is too late; and he, too, 
invokes the muse to sing of dark trials and tribulations. Both 
poets depict the misery of unfortunate mortals, war, famine, 
pestilence, and conflagration. The "Satires" appear to have 
furnished Lenz with some of his sentiments. If Young seems 
to be present in the Nachtschwdrmerey, it is thru the medium 
of Klopstock. Goethe and Rousseau are also sources.^ 

JOHANN HeINRICH JuNG-StILLING (174O-1817) 

Jung-Stilling was an ardent admirer of Young's "Night 
Thoughts." In his autobiography he speaks of reading Milton's 
"Paradise Lost," Young's "Night Thoughts," and Klopstock's 
"Messias," and calls them three books which harmonized per- 
fectly with his soul. His former sanguinely tender tempera- 
ment had given place, he says, to mild, tender melancholy, 
which would very likely remain with him until death.^ At all 
events, his love for Young remained; for, in 1793, he advises 
Sophie von La Roche to read Young's "Night Thoughts on 
Time" as the best book in time of grief.'* Stilling's extreme 
piety pervades his work, and his material has much in common 
with Young; but having the same biblical sources, being a 

^ " Beitrage zum Studium der Gedichte von J. M. R. Lenz." O. Anwand. 
Miinchen, pp. 52-63. 

^ Cf. ibid., p. 105. 

^"Sammtliche Werke." Stuttgart, 1835. Vol. I, p. 241. 

* Euphorion. 1895. Vol. II, p. 585. R. Hassencamp: "Brief von J. H- 
Jung-Stilling an Sophie von La Roche," dated Marburg, Nov. 27, 1793. Her 
daughter had died a short time before. 

L or r.. 



100 

student of Milton and Klopstock, as well as of Young, he 
was exposed to similar influences from these different sources, 
and it is impossible to demonstrate influence of the "Night 
Thoughts." 

Jean Paul Friedrich Richter (i 763-1825) 

Jean Paul was a student of Young and found much in this 
kindred spirit to admire. The Prince of Gotha presented him 
in 1801 with a de luxe edition of the "Night Thoughts," which 
he calls divine {englisch)} He mentions Young frequently in 
his works ; but one can hardly speak of real imitation, altho 
many thoughts and themes are found in Jean Paul that have 
parallels in Young, as has been pointed out by Barnstorff. 
Further, Miiller claims that the reading of Young, Pope, Gel- 
lert, etc., inspired the essay " Etwas uber den Menschen" (1781).^ 
There is a warmth in Jean Paul, however, and a direct simplic- 
ity that touches our hearts more effectively than Young ever 
does, 

Altho an admirer of the author of the "Night Thoughts," 
Richter was not bhnd to his faults and especially those of his 
imitators. He even satirizes himself among them, as it were: 
"Beim Himmel! Wir versalzen uns da Alle mit Nachtge- 
danken den heiligen Abend ohne Noth, und es weiss Keiner 
von uns, warum er so seufzt." ^ 

That he was not in sympathy with these tearful poets is 
proved decidedly in his "Lob der Dummheit." He calls 
them the poets who live on tears as the fish on water. They 
are snow men, who, contrary to the course of nature, are stif- 
fened by the frost, but at night are melted by the moonbeams. 
In the second Deluge, the one of tears that these poets lately 
caused in Germany, they proved themselves zealous as frogs 
thru their voices, as fish thru their gills. But, he concludes, 
it is not necessary to say much about them now, since they 
disappeared with the water.* 

> Letter to Ch. O. Meiningen, Nov. 21, i8or. Cf. also " Werke" in Kursch- 
ner's "D. N. L." Nerrlich. Vol. I, p. xlviii. 
' Euphorion. Vol. VI, p. 567. 
' "Werke." Hempel. Vol. IX, p. 474. ■* "D. N. L." I.e. p. 160. 



101 



JoHANN Christoph Friedrich Houderlin (1770-1843) 

Ebert's translation of the "Night Thoughts" furnished food 
for Holderhn's thoughts on the transitory splendors of earthly 
life. In his poem "Der Lorbeer" (1788) the youth pays a 
tribute to his ideal, and from that time on this life offers less 
and less to this melancholy poet. But Young was soon replaced 
by Klopstock, who offered as much peace to Holderlin's desire 
to quit this sphere and yet filled his soul with sublime, rather 
than morose, melancholy.* 

Friedrich von Hardenberg (Novalis) (i 772-1801) 

Altho Novalis's "Hymnen an die Nacht" (1797-1798) do 
not resemble or show influence of Young's "Night Thoughts,'* 
they must be mentioned, because critics until recently have 
claimed such influence.^ They were misled to this conception 
by a passage in Novalis's journal, which reads, "Abends 
in Young's Nachtgedanken geblattert." ^ It is very probable 
that the "Night Thoughts" had some influence in the choice 
of subject, or they may even have suggested the idea of giving 
vent to his grief in writing, for the cause was the same in both 
cases ; but here the resemblance ends. Barnstorff cites Worner's 
interpretation of an obscure passage in the third Hymn thru 
a similar thought in the "Night Thoughts," and this is the sum 
total of definite parallels.* 

* Cf. "Die Jugenddichtung Friedrich Holderlins." Rudolf Grosch. Berlin, 
1899, pp. lO-II. 

^ Just Bing, in his biographical sketch of Novalis, Hamburg und Leipzig, 
1893, p. 113, voices the same opinion. 

^ "Novalis Schriften," Ernst Heilbronn. BerHn. 1901. Vol. I, p. 268. 

* Cf. Roman Worner: "Novalis' Hymnen an die Nacht und geistliche 
Lieder." Miinchen, 1885, p. 16. The passages are: Novalis — "und mit 
einemmale riss das Band der Geburt des Lichtes Fessel." Cf. Young, Night I, 
verses 131-133: — 

" Embryos we must be, till we burst the shell, 
Yon ambient azure shell, and spring to life, 
The Hfe of gods (O Transport !), and of man." 



102 



{g) Minor Works oj Minor Writers that show or suggest 
Influence oj the " Night Thoughts " 

H. C. Kretsch (1725-1781). " Klagegedichte." 1753. An 
elegy treating of the vanity of earthly life, the fickleness of fame, 
and other themes that are favorites of Young/ 

J. F. Lowen (1729-1771). "Der Christ bey den Grabern." 
Hamburg, 1753. 

Anonymous. "Klage bey dem Tode der Geliebten." Al- 
tenburg, 1753. 

C. W. C. Fr, V. C. " Betrachtungen iiber Leib, Seele, Tod 
und Leben." Bresslau, 1754. 

Anonymous. "Der Christ auf dem Sterbebette." 1754. 
Contains citations from the "Night Thoughts" and treats of 
similar subjects.^ 

F. E. Natho (1736-1806). "Der Tod des Christen." 

Ph. L. S. Miiller, Professor zu Erlangen. "Einsame Nacht- 
gedanken, eine Wochenschrift oder moralische Betrachtungen 
iiber die Welt und Weltliche Begebenheiten." Wien und 
X.eipzig, 1761.^ 

Anonymous. " Nachtgedanken bey einer gefahrlichen Reise 
in Kriegeszeiten, vom Verfasser des Christen im Kriege." 
bresslau, bey Meyer, 1762.'* 

Anonymous. "Stunden der Einsamkeit." Leipzig, 1760.^ 

Anonymous. "Scherze der Lyrischen Muse." Leipzig, 
1760. Even this contains night thoughts with direct reference 
to Young, Hervey, and Zachariae as typical nightly bards." 

Anonymous. "Mein Vergniigen in Zurich." Halle. This 
contains a series of complaints in Young's manner.^ 

* In " Anthologie der Deutschen," Ch. H. Schmid. Frankfurt und Leipzig, 
,1770, Part I, pp. 314 ff. 

' In " Schlesische Sammlung kleiner auserlesener Schriften," etc., Part III. 
Breslau und Leipzig, 1756, XXX, pp. 477-492. 

' Harshly reviewed in Brieje, die neueste Litteratur betreffend, 1761. i82d 
^' Brief," pp. 59-64. 

* Likewise harshly reviewed, ibid., p. 69. 

» Ridiculed, ibid., 183d " Brief," pp. 73 ff. 
' Likewise ridiculed, ibid., p. 78. 

* This, too, is ridiculed, ibid., pp. 81 fif. 



103 

M. K. Curtius (i 724-1802), Professor der Ritterakademie 
zu Luneburg. "Kritische Abhandlungen und Gedichte." 
Hannover, 1760. Many poems contain mention of Young and 
follow in his footsteps. Cf. especially "Abhandlung von dem 
Erhabenen in der Dichtkunst," p. 38; "Die Weser," p. 160; 
"Die Schicksale der Dichtkunst," p. 180. 

"Der Einsame." Hamburg, 1766. A moral weekly con- 
taining articles on sohtude and the like, strongly influenced 
by the "Night Thoughts," which are frequently cited. Cf. 
especially. Part I, "Des Einsamen Bewegungsgriinde die Ein- 
samkeit zu suchen. Nutzen der Einsamkeit," pp. 3-8; "Vor- 
theile der Einsamkeit in Ansehung der Religion," pp. 193-200; 
Part n, "Von der pflichtmassigen Verlaugnung der Menschen, 
in Ansehung ihres Aufenthaltes auf Erden," pp. 89-96. 

Ph. E. Kern (1716-1777). "Triumph vor dem Todten- 
Bette." Hildburgshausen, 1764. This bears Young's name 
on the title-page and breathes the spirit of the author of the 
"Night Thoughts" in the treatment of Christian subjects.^ 

A. G. Hering. "Uber den Tod der Mutter." "Uber den 
Tod eines Bruders." Two complaints in the tone of Young's 
"Night Thoughts." =* 

Schilling. "Gedichte." Bremen, 1772. Many traits be- 
tray influence of the "Night Thoughts," especially in "Die 
Leiden einer jungen Muse." Bremen, 1769. 

" Gesellschaf thche Bemuhungen der Welt die christliche 
Rehgion anzupreisen: — 

Kein Licht, kein Trost erfreute mich, 
Kennt' ich nicht, Jesus Christus, dich." 

Vol. I, Stuck I. Gottingen und Gotha, 1772. 198 pp. Zeal- 
ous arguments to prove the immortality of the soul in Young's 
manner, citing the "Night Thoughts" for proof.' 

' Review: Ausziige und Urtheile ziber die neuesten Schriften aus den 
sch'dnen Wissenschaften. Gotha, 1765, pp. 376-383. Unfavorable criticism 
that points out the fact that Kern is an admirer and imitator of Young. Against 
this criticism appeared the review in Ausjuhrliche und kritische Nachrichten 
Uber die besten und merkwiirdigsten Schrifien unsrer Zeit, etc. 1765, pp. 105-128. 

' In "Anthologie der Deutschen," Ch. H. Schmid. Frankfurt und Leipzig, 
1770, Part I, pp. 35-46. 

^ Review in Frankjurter Celehrte Anzeigen vom Jahre, 1772. Reprint in 



104 

A. H. Heydenreich, C. S. Regierungs-Rathe. "Das Grab 
in Vier Gesangen." Coburg, 1775. A poem of forty pages on 
the grave and death, imbued with Young's spirit and borrowing 
largely from the " Night Thoughts." In fact, the resemblance is 
so strong that the poem was bound with the Schaffhausen edition 
of Ebert's translation of the "Satires." 

J. K. Wetzel (i 747-1819). "Epistel an die deutschen 
Dichter." Leipzig, 1775. " Die unvermuthete Nachbarschaft. 
Ein Gesprach," pp. 25-48. An imaginary conversation be- 
tween Young and Sterne, characterizing both writers. Young 
is represented as the pessimistic moralizer, Sterne as the jovial 
satirist. 

K. Ph. Moritz (i 757-1 793). In his psychological novel 
"Anton Reiser" (i 785-1 790), Moritz shows the warmth of 
his admiration for the "Night Thoughts," when the hero, 
avowedly the author himself, says that it seemed to him as if 
he found in the work of Young all his former ideas on the empti- 
ness of life and the vanity of all earthly things. He could not 
read the work sufficiently to satisfy himself, and he learned the 
leading thoughts and sentiments by heart.^ 

G. F. Staudlin (1758-1796). The poem "An die Schwer- 
muth" shows the influence of Young's "Night Thoughts."^ 

F. L. Fischbach. "Nachtliche Einsamkeit zum Gebrauch 
fiir jeden Menschen, der Vernunft hat." Stettin, 1781. The 
whole work, 184 pp., is written in language similar to Young's; 
there are similar thoughts, arguments, and figures, with the 
same irrelevant digressions that are typical of the "Night 
Thoughts." Night is invoked for inspiration and eulogized in 
Young's manner. 

F. T. Wettengel (1750-1824). "Trostgriinde bey den 
Grabem unsrer Geliebten." Greiz, 1785. 

The above- cited works are a few typical examples of the 
scores of imitations that sprang into existence like mushrooms 

" Deutsche Litteraturdenkmale des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts." Vol. CXXX, 
PP- 332-338. 

^ Cf. " Deutsche Litteraturdenkmale des i8. und 19. Jahrhunderts." Vol. 
XXIII, Part III, p. 227. 

2 Cf. Weltrich's Schiller. Vol. I, p. 487. 



105 

over night. Goedeke's " Grundriss," Vol. VII, gives the titles of 
innumerable works by ephemeral poets that suggest Young, 
but the works are utterly forgotten now and, as a rule, can not 
be obtained in any of the leading German libraries. Besides 
these, nearly all the Moralische Wochenschrijten from 1750 
to 1800 contain references to Young, as well as articles that 
show the influence of the "Night Thoughts." It would take 
us too far afield, however, to treat all this ephemeral literature. 
In Austria the movement lasted somewhat longer, as it had 
also developed more slowly, and after 1800 we find numerous 
unimportant poems and works by minor writers that suggest 
influence of the "Night Thoughts." Such poets as Glatz, 
Veillodter, Theremin, etc., etc.,^ seem to stand under the shadow 
of Young. Most of these minor works it was impossible to 
locate, so no detailed resume can be given. 

{h) The Classical Writers and the Reaction against the ^^ Night 

Thoughts^' 

Chkistoph Martin Wieland (i 733-1813) 

Wieland, in his earlier years, nourished his already over- 
zealous and somber piety thru the study of Klopstock and 
Young, so that he rejected all poetry that was not written in 
Klopstock's idealistic vein, and accused of indifference to reli- 
gion all who did not prefer the meanest hymn to the most 
charming anacreontic of Uz.^ 

His first acquaintance with the "Night Thoughts" must 
have been in German translation; for at the time when he 
began to learn English, March, 1752, he already shows great 
fondness for the work.^ He is prepared to love Bodmer's 
Crito for its review of the "Night Thoughts,"* and a little 

1 Cf. Goedeke's "Grundriss," Vol. VII. 

^ " Geschichte der deutschen Nationallitteratur," Koberstein. Vol. Ill, 
p. 119. 

^ "Ausgewahlte Briefe." Zurich, 1815. Vol. I, p. 55, letter to Schinz, Tiibing- 
en, March 26, 1752. He burns with the desire to read Milton, Pope, Addison, 
Young, and Thomson in the original, he writes. 

* Cf. ibid., p. 256, letter to Bodmer, Tubingen, Jan. 19, 1752. 



106 

later he writes in the tenderest terms to Schinz about the lat- 
ter's review and is anxious to know whether the satires en- 
titled "The Love of Fame" are really by Young.^ Other 
letters evince the same unbounded admiration for this author, 
who "rises to the plane of the very angels."^ 

But two years later a complete reaction, largely caused by 
his associations with Zimmermann, has taken place in Wie- 
land. The former disciple of Young now considers that au- 
thor's poetical taste bad and capable of corrupting the taste of 
young writers. There was a time, he says, when Young charmed 
him ; but that time is past.^ And Wieland was cured forever. 
Fifteen years later, writing about the Ossianic bards, he urges 
the necessity of taking a whip to the Klopstocks and their imi- 
tators and the transcendental poetical fools.* Thus the period 
of Wieland's life that may be regarded as subject to influence 
from Young falls between the years 1751 and 1758. Ebert 
cites no less than forty-three passages that show this influence. 
The works especially to be considered here are: "Briefe von 
Verstorbenen an hinterlassene Freunde" (1753), "Sympa- 
thieen" (1754), "Empfindungen eines Christen" (1757), and 
there is no doubt a striking resemblance and abundant in- 
fluence. 

GOTTHOLD EpHRAIM LESSING (1729-1781) 

Lessing's acquaintance with Young's "Conjectures" and his 
relations to them have already been discussed.^ His reviews 
also prove his acquaintance with other works of Young and 
especially with the " Night Thoughts." ^ His review of Kayser's 
translation, in 1753, calls the "Night Thoughts" "this master- 
piece of one of the sublimest poets." ^ Ahho he must find 
fault with the hexameters, he feels that the translator deserves 
commendation for helping to spread the original. He hopes 
the translation will be continued so as to include all the Nights, 
and he cites the biographical data on Young with an interest 

' Cf. " Ausgewahlte Briefe." Zurich, 1815. Vol. I, p. 59. 
* Cf. ibid., p. 221. " Cf. ibid., Vol. Ill, p. 134. 

' Ibid., I.e. pp. 269-270. * Cf. supra, pp. 26-28. 

' Lessing's "Sammtliche Werke." Lachmann-Muncker edition. Vol. VIII, 
pp. 79, 125; Vol. IX, p. 336. ' Cf. Bibliography, infra, 1752. 



107 

that is significant. At this time Lessing was studying English 
poets, Pope, especially, in addition to Young. Klopstock, too, 
occupied him ; but that his endurance of such poetry was limited, 
Lessing shows in the couplet: — 

"Wer wird nicht einen Klopstock loben? 
Doch wird ihn jeder lesen? — Nein." (1751) * 

And yet Lessing read him and tried his own poetical talents in 
serious verses on human happiness and religion. His fragment, 
first published in 1748, "Aus einem Gedichte iiber die mensch- 
liche Gliickseligkeit," ^ shows this tendency, which is further 
developed in the fragment "Die Religion," published in 1751.^ 
Like Young, he chooses the quiet hours of night to concentrate 
his soul,* and, overcome by the thought of the nothingness of 
man compared with the infinite God, he calls out in Young's 
words, ''Was ist der Mensch?" ^ The arguments thruout the 
fragment suggest Young strongly. 

Lessing did not remain in this mood long, and we find him 
writing anacreontics soon after. His admiration for Young 
cooled as he grew older, but he did not turn against him, as 
is sometimes said.^ His review (1759) of Cramer's periodical 
Der Nordische Aujseher,'' in which the latter considers Young 
sublimer than Milton and second only to David and the Prophets, 
calls this fanatical adoration "somewhat exaggerated" (etwas 
ubertriehen) ; but that is not a harsh rebuff. That Lessing 
shared the views of his fellow-critics who, in the Litteraturhrieje, 
waged war against the Nachtgedankenmacher, is a safe con- 
jecture; but this, too, is directed against the hosts of imita- 
tors of Young, not against Young himself. 

JoHANN Gottfried Herder (i 744-1803) 

Herder, whose life-long admiration for the "Conjectures" 
has been discussed,^ was a zealous student of the "Night 

* "Sammtliche Werke," l.c. Vol. I, p. 2. ■* Cf. verses 23-24, ibid., p. 257. 

* Cf. ibid., pp. 237-240. ^ Cf. verse 47, ibid., p. 258. 
^ Cf. ibid., pp. 255-267. ' Euphorion, Vol. V, p. 140. 
^ Cf. on Cramer, supra, pp. 63, 83-84; also. Bibliography, infra, 1758. 

* Cf. supra, pp. 40-57- 



108 

Thoughts," as is evinced by the innumerable discussions in his 
reviews, writings, sermons, and letters. He himself had many 
points in common with Young, and his sermons, naturally 
dealing with the same problems that are found in the "Night 
Thoughts," were especially open to influence from that source. 
He translated a considerable portion, 125 verses, of Night I, 
some verses of Night II, and published 66 verses of the opening 
of Night V, a translation by G. W. Oeder, besides using several 
citations from the original or from Ebert's translation for 
various purposes of criticism.^ But in spite of his eager study 
of the "Night Thoughts" and the warm attitude that he shows 
toward them, he was by no means blind to their faults. 

As early as 1772, he calls Young the foremost of all gloomy 
poets, but finds fault with the chaos of thoughts and figures, and 
admxits that they must often cause headache and exasperation.^ 
He also prophesies of the imitators of Young and Hervey, that 
such gloomy singers must finally become the most distasteful 
and miserable of poets, "the most croaking raven of Herrnhut- 
isch death melodies." Elsewhere he speaks of these imitators 
as "schlechte Schmierer von Nachtgedanken." ^ Other pas- 
sages give full proof of the fact that Herder, with his sharp eye 
for literary merit, was fully aware of Young's weaknesses. 

He reaches the height of his reaction against the "Night 
Thoughts" in the following statement. Having given as his 
opinion that Young could not attain the standard of Milton, 
Herder says: "Young . . . who wished at all costs to be an 
original, vied with Shakspere, Milton, Pope, and all the 
didactic poets of the world. ... A bold wish to be an 
original, with which he, however, finally produced nothing 
more than sermons, no matter whether he called them Night 
Thoughts, Odes, Satires, or Tragedies. His greatest and fa- 
vorite figure in the 'Night Thoughts' is the parenthyrus (hyper- 
bole), which, to be sure, heaps one tirade of wit upon the other 
and says many beautiful things, but as a result does nothing 
further than to force (schrauben) the human understanding 

' Cf. Bibliography, injra, 1803. 

' " Sammtliche Werke," Suphan edition. Vol. V, pp. 290-291. 

3 Cf. ibid., Vol. I, p. 253. 



109 

above its natural level. I am surprised that Young was ever 
considered a deep thinker; he is on all sides an extremely- 
witty, hyperbolical poet, striving for originality. Rich in 
thoughts and figures, he did not know how to control them. 
As he studied English theology in Thomas Aquinas, upon the 
malicious advice of Pope,* he likewise would have studied it 
in the Koran. Few poets are, therefore, to be read with so 
much caution. In his ' Night Thoughts, ' as the name imphes, 
he is to be tested as a thinker, and every coquetry of wit is 
to be esteemed for what it is, even if it concerns the hohest 
things." ^ 

But this is not Herder's final judgment; at least, it con- 
tains no malice, and he gives as his last estimate the following 
characteristic: "Young's 'Night Thoughts,' finally, are the 
non plus ultra of sententious, witty, sublime, pious thoughts, 
brilliant as the nightly firmament ; who can arrange and count 
them?" 3 

JoHANN Wolfgang Goethe (i 749-1832) 

In 1766, Goethe wrote to his sister from Leipzig about 
his learning English from Milton and Young.^ A letter to his 
grandmother from Strassburg, in 1771, upon the death of his 
grandfather, contains thoughts that remind one of Young, and 
a letter the same year to Salzmann speaks of grasping after 
phantoms, in words that resemble Night I, verse 202.^ Other 
letters contain similar philosophy that shows the youthful 
Goethe still busy with the "Night Thoughts," whether for the 
purpose of learning English or for the poem itself. 

That "Werther," which appeared soon after, contains a 
view of the philosophy of life and death similar to that found 

^ This refers to the curious anecdote, related by Ruffhead, of Young having 
been persuaded by Pope to study the writings of Thomas Aquinas as the best 
course of preparation to be pursued by a candidate for holy orders in the Church 
of England. Cf. Young's, " Complete Works," edited by Doran. London, 
1854, Vol. II, p. 559, note. 

^ "Sammtliche Werke," Suphan edition. Vol. XVIII, p. 106. 

' Cf. ibid., Vol. XXIII, p. 236. "Adrastea," 1801. 

* " Goethes Briefe," Weimar edition, 1887. Vol. I, p. 71. 

* Cf. ibid., pp. 254, 263. Cited by S. Wukadinovic. Euphorion. Vol. V, 
p. 141. 



110 

expressed in the "Night Thoughts," is therefore not astonish- 
ing. Barnstorff cites a number of interesting similarities.^ In 
the Thirteenth Book of his autobiography, Goethe character- 
izes the effect that the gloomy English poets had upon Germany 
at that time, and attributes to them, mentioning the "Night 
Thoughts" as the work in which the pessimistic weariness 
of life is preeminently worked out, the conditions that caused 
"Werther" to strike a responsive chord everywhere.^ But 
Goethe, having delivered himself of this melancholy burden 
in his "Werther," was cured, and henceforth the "Night 
Thoughts" had no more attraction for him; whereas his fellow- 
countrymen continued in their melancholy. Barnstorff cites 
the French imitation "Wertherie," Paris, 1791, where the 
catastrophe is developed by a passage read from the "Night 
Thoughts." 3 

During Goethe's sentimental period, as sketched above, a 
poem of 60 verses appeared in Hamburg, entitled " Eine Elegie 
von Herrn Doct. Gothe." * The anonymous author, cer- 
tainly not Goethe, makes free use of Young's " Night Thoughts," 
especially of Nights III and IX. Finally, Goethe's humor 
on this subject, as displayed in his verses " Das Alter," might be 
added : — 

"Das Alter ist ein hoflich Mann, 
Ein Mai iibers andere klopft er an, 
Aber nun sagt Niemand: herein! 
Und vor der Thiir will er nicht sein. 
Da klinkt er auf, tritt ein so schnell, 
Und nun heisst's, er sei ein grober Gesell." ' 

Karl Weinhold, in the Zeitschrijt des Vereins jiir Volks- 

' Cf. I.e. pp. 74-75- 

^ When L. Geiger, in the Jahresherichte jiir neuere deutsckc Litteraturge- 
schichte, Vol. Ill, IV 8d: 17, criticises a similar claim made by F. Duebnerin his 
"Quelques remarques sur 'Werther,'" etc., he loses sight of the fact that the 
great reading public could be affected by the wave of English influence secon- 
darily, and did not have to be brought directly into contact with English sources. 

3 Cf. I.e. p. 75. 

* Cf. Bibliography, infra, 1774. 

^ Sent in a letter to Zelter, Feb. 14, 1814. First printed in Goethe's 
"Werke." Stuttgart und Tubingen, Cotta, 1815-1819, Vol. II, p. 286. 



Ill 

kunde,^ cites these verses in connection with the couplet painted 
on the wall of an inn in the Otzthal, in the Tirol : — 

"Der Tod der ist ein grober Mann, 
Er kommt herein und klopft nicht an." 

Cf. for both, Young's "Night Thoughts," Night V, verses 
618-620: — 

"and death 

Already at the door? He knocks, we hear him, 

And yet we will not hear." 

JOHANN Christoph Friedrich Schiller (i 759-1805) 

During the years of his schooling in the Military Academy 
of the Duke Karl Eugen (1773-1780), the youthful Schiller 
read Young and again took up the study of Klopstock. But 
the influence of the latter diminished as Schiller recognized his 
own ability in the dramatic field, and Klopstock's religious muse 
became more and more foreign to him.^ Any influence of 
Young that might have been exerted on Schiller's poetry would 
very likely come thru the medium of Klopstock, and only 
during these early years. The poem "Der Abend" (1776)^ 
revels in the beauties of nature and celebrates the supremacy of 
the Creator in language that reminds one of Young; and the 
" Leichenfantasie " (1780) ^ is a gloomy memento mori in which 
the youthful poet cries out in Young's words : " Wiedersehen — 
himmhscher Gedanke!""^ The elegy written upon the death 
of Weckerlin dwells upon the vanity of this transitory life, 
in thoughts that reflect Young.® 

Schiller's adieu, as it were, is said to Klopstock and his school 
in the Anthology of 1782,^ in the couplet entitled " Messiade" : — 

"Religion beschenkte diss Gedicht, 
Auch umgekehrt? — Das fragt mich nicht." 

' Cf. ihid., Vol. VI, p. 211. 

2 "Friedrich Schiller," Richard Weltrich. Stuttgart, 1899. Vol. I. p. 236. 
^ "Schillers sammtliche Schriften," Goedeke. Stuttgart, 1867. Vol. I, pp. 
27-30. 

* Cf. ibid., pp. 106-108. « Cf. ibid., pp. 178-183. 

^ Cf. ibid., p. 108, verse 64. ' Cf. ibid., p. 265. 



112 

Later in life, having outgrown these youthful tendencies, 
Schiller, in his essay on "Naive and Sentimental Poetry" 
( 1 795-1 800), mentions Young among the satirists of pathos, 
who were directed into this channel by their period of degen- 
eracy. ^ In the same essay, where he treats of elegiac poetry, 
he reveals his complete recovery from all sympathy with the 
tendencies of Klopstock and Young as follows: "No poet — 
with possibly the exception of Young, who in this respect de- 
mands even more than Klopstock, without, however, giving 
us as much in return, — no poet could be less adapted than 
Klopstock to serve as one's favorite author and guide thru 
life; because he always leads us away from real life, always 
engages only our souls, without refreshing our minds with the 
calm presence of anything material. Chaste with nothing 
of the earthly, immaterial, as holy as his religion, is his muse, 
and one is forced to wonder that he, altho he often loses his 
way in these lofty heights, never falls from them. I, there- 
fore, sincerely confess that I have some fears for the intelligence 
of those who in all sincerity and without affectation choose 
him for their favorite poet." ' 

When W. Waiblinger (1804-1830), himself a hyper-senti- 
mental nature, friend of Holderlin and follower of Byron, pro- 
nounced Schiller "a species of Young, in whom chaos rules," ' 
he can not mean influence of Young, but that rhetorical loftiness 
in Schiller's poetry, that subhme, ethereal, ideal philosophy of 
life that rises above the imagination of the ordinary man ; and 
so far he is correct. This similarity exists. It is interesting 
to note further that the same criticism was passed by Wieland, 
after he had been cured of his sentimental " Youngizing," in 
1789, when he refused to call "Die Kiinstler" a poem, but pro- 
nounced it "philosophical poetry of the species of Young's 
'Night Thoughts.' " " 



' Cf. "Schiller's sammtliche Schriften," Goedeke. Vol. X, p. 459. 

' Ibid., Vol. X, pp. 473-474. 

' Cf. " Goethe Jahrbuch." Vol. XII, p. 320. Letter to Wurm, March 5, 
1821. Cited by S. Wukadinovic. Euphorion. Vol. V, p. 141. 

* Cf. Schiller's letter to Korner, Weimar, Feb. 25, 1789, in " Schillers 
Briefe," Jonas. Vol. II, p. 236, 



113 



Justus Moser (1720-1794) 

In his "Schreiben einer Dame an ihren Capellan iiber den 
Gebrauch ihrer Zeit," Moser allows his lady to say that the 
"Night Thoughts" cause her most violent headaches the mo- 
ment she begins to read them,* In another writing, on the 
removal of cemeteries, he connects Young's name with the 
expression, "The melancholy muse can croak only a funeral 
carmen."^ In his "Harlekin"^ he also mentions Young 
three times and always with a satirical turn. The spirit of 
the whole book is opposed to melancholy and seriousness ; and 
a contemporary critic even went so far, at the time of its ap- 
pearance, as to see in it a satire directed against the gloomy 
"Night Thoughts."* 

JOHANN Benjamin Michaelis (i 746-1 772) 

Michaelis told a confidential friend that the craze of his fellow- 
countrymen to imitate English writers, and the fever to trans- 
late certain authors, had for a long time filled him with satir- 
ical wrath. ^ He expresses this wrath against the wave of 
" Youngizing" that had deluged Germany, in his second satire, 
as follows : — 

"Empfindungen, Bardiet, Theater, Reverien, 
Fragment, Bibliothek, Einfalle, Rhapsodien, 
Museum, Walder, Brief, Anthologie, Versuch: ' 
Aus diesem nimm ein Wort, und setz' es vor ein Buch; 
Wenn dann vor seiner Stirn ein englisch Motto schmettert, 
So wird dein Werk verlegt, bezahlt, gekauft, vergottert." ' 

* "Sammtliche Werke." Berlin und Stettin, 1798, Vol. I, p. 281. 
» Cf. ibid., Vol. IV, p. 179. 

' "Harlekin oder die Vertheidigung des Groteske-Komischen." 1761, 80 pp, 
Cf. "Werke," I.e. Vol. VII, pp. 70-115. 

* Thomas Abbt's Letter to Mendelssohn, Rinteln, Oct. 13, 1761. 

* "Sammtliche Poetische Werke." Wien, 1791, Part I, Preface, p. 103. 
' Earlier editions had : — 

"Gedanken, Possen, Trost, Empfindung, Magazine, 
Sammlung, Bibliothek, Einfalle, kom'sche Biihne, 
Scherz, Klagen, Zeitvertreib, Zerstreuungen, Versuch:" 
' Cf. " Sammtliche Poetische Werke," I.e. p. 112. 



114 

His disgust is also shown in the following verses: — 

"Die Deutschen wollen nicht, sie konnen alles seyn; 
AUein sie bleiben stets, in andrer Werth verloren, 
Nachahmende Genies, originelle Thoren. 
Zehn plappern narrisch nach, was einer weislich sprach. 
So bald ein Deutscher denkt, schwarmt auch ein Deutscher nach ; 
Und war am meisten gilt, erhalt von Zeit und Mode 
Lied, Epopee, Idyll, Erzahlung, Fabel, Ode." ' 

This is aimed directly against imitation of Young in this 
couplet : — 

"Young klagt — kein Jiingling ist, der nicht sogleich sich harmt, 
Von Grabern etwas lallt, vom Sterben etwas schwarmt." ' 

And finally, in his verses "Liebe und Hass," he again satirizes 
the imitation of Young : — 

"Young klagt — Dorinden schmaht Amynt; 
Gleim scherzt — Dorinden lobt Philint : 
Bey Madchen und der Welt kommt's auf die Seite an, 
Von der wir sie zum ersten Mahle sahn." ^ 

Heinrich Leopold Wagner (i 747-1 779) 

In the tragedy "Die Kindermorderin, " Young's "Night 
Thoughts" in French translation are said to be the heroine's 
favorite book in her ever increasing melancholy. To this von 
Hasenpoth replies: "God be merciful unto her! — If I had 
to read a single page of it, I should play the Englishman, and 
hang myself with my garter." * A sentiment that was very 
likely Wagner's own. 

> Cf. "Sammtliche Poetische Werke," I.e. p. 113. 

^ Cf. ibid., p. 116. 

' Cf. ibid.. I.e. p. 177. 

* This passage was omitted in K. G. Lessing's revision, as has been pointed 
out by E. Schmidt. Cf. " Deutsche Litteraturdenkmale des 18. und 19. Jahr- 
hunderts." Vol. XIII, p. vii. Cf. also S. Wukadinovic, in Euphorion. Vol. 
V, p. 141. 



115 



JoHAim Jakob Wilhelm Heinse (i 749-1803) 

In a letter to Gleim (1772) Heinse says that the former's poem 
on the existence of God, "Das Daseyn Gottes," ^ is dearer and 
of more value to him than all the Youngish, Senecan, Platonic, 
and Herrnhutherischer nonsense on the Being of Beings.^ 
This is a corroboration of the attitude in an earher poem (1766), 
entitled " Empfindungen in einem entziickenden Thai' im 
May 1766, niedergeschrieben von einem Junglinge, der noch 
ein Knabe war." After 54 anacreontic verses, full of exuber- 
ant outbursts over the joy of living, he exclaims : — 

"Young und Plato eurer Schwarmerey 
Stimmet man nur mit dem Munde bey!" 

Thoughts of death and of the grave creep over him in his senti- 
mentally happy mood, but he dispels them and thinks only of 
the pleasures of earthly life.^ 

JOHANN GeORG JaCOBI (174O-1814) 

Jacobi occupies a peculiar position in reference to the "Night 
Thoughts"; an admirer of Young himself, he nevertheless 
could not tolerate Young's innumerable imitators. Quite the 
opposite of the serious Young, Jacobi, in his light, bantering, 
satirical tone, was, however, capable of serious thoughts of the 
grave and death, as is shown especially in the last stanza of his 
poem "Klage" : — 

"Willkommen, kalter Schauer! 

Du Nachtgefliister du ! 

Willkommen meiner Trauer ! 

Im Grabe nur ist Ruh." * 

In his poem "An Betty" there is a hidden thrust at the theme 
of nightly visions, when he chides Betty for her recent gloom, 

* "Liederfiir das Volk," 1772. In " Sammtliche Werke." Vol. I, p. 358. 

^ Qtiellenschrijten zur neuen Litleratur- und Geistesgeschichle. Vol. II r 
" Briefwechsel zwischen Gleim und Heinse." Schuddekopf. Weimar, 1894, 
p. 82. 

' Cf. ibid., "Anhang," pp. 254-258. 

* "Sammtliche Werke." Zurich, 1825. Vol. II, p. 367. 



116 

and cautions her that if she continues she will have visions and 

see 

. . . "lauter Graber . . . 
Und zwischen Knochenhausern gehn. 
Einher auf Leichensteinen kriechen 
Und ihre Todtendiifte riechen." '■ 

But it is in his " Nachtgedanken " ^ and the poem "Die 
Dichter," a satirical opera played in the nether regions, that 
Jacobi has expressed himself most freely. Critics have called 
Jacobi's "Nachtgedanken" a parody on the "Night Thoughts" 
of Young, as the title suggests and even a first reading might 
seem to show ; but the note to the first Night, added by Jacobi 
himself, informs his readers expressly that these night thoughts 
are merely the capricious thoughts that occurred to him while 
spending the required two nights in a cell to qualify for his 
ecclesiastical orders. The gloomy surroundings reminded him 
of the "numerous unfortunate imitators of Young." The 
work bears no suggestion of Young's "Complaint"; in fact the 
first Night closes with a love poem to Belinde. The second 
Night, too, has nothing in common with Young.' 

Jacobi's epistle to Klotz * tells how often he had scoffed at 
the poets of misery, who, without cause or genius, imitate 
worthy Young and debase his fair name. He further speaks of 
them as "funeral bards," and "black prophets" to stone whom 
would be no great loss.^ Since this " Youngizing" tendency is 

1 Cf. " Sammtliche Werke," I.e. p. 199. 

' Written Jan. 7, 1769. 

' Earlier in life, Jacobi had used the title "Nachtgedanken" with a purely 
satirical significance. Cf. his letter to Klotz, Dec. 27, 1768 (in " Brief e 
Deutscher Gelehrter." Hagen, 1773, p. 170). He used the title "Night 
Thoughts" for these lines, he said, because the lines were written at midnight. 
Cited by G. Ransohoff: " Jacobi's Jugendwerke." Dissertation. Berlin, 1892. 
Note, pp. 34-35- 

* Letter to Klotz. Cf. "Sammtliche Werke." Zurich, 1825. Vol. I, pp. 
278 ff. 

' These attacks upon the "nightly singers" called forth a fierce remonstrance 
from the pen of a certain Daneil in the Kritische Nachrichten, Lindau am 
Bodensee. Cf. the letter from Uz to Gleim, Sept. 11, 1769. Vol. CCVIII, 
p. 386, of the "Bibliothek des litterarischen Vereins in Stuttgart." Klopstock, 
Herder, and others were opposed to Jacobi's bantering. Cf. Qtiellen und 
Forschungen zur Sprache und CuUurgeschichte. Vol. II, pp. 9, 27. 



117 

a thing of the past, he says, there is now a tendency to burlesque, 
which is also displeasing to him, since no poet of joy is tolerated. 
And so he hits imitation with another satirical dart. 

Jacobi's best satire against the imitators of Young is in the 
opera "Die Dichter," the first scene of which depicts the first 
age of innocent, naive poetry, corrupted in the second scene 
by the "unwise imitators" of "wise Young." A siege of joy 
follows, which is relieved in the third scene, and the nocturnal 
spectres are allowed to depart unmolested, only a few moralists 
and uninvited judges of beauty remaining behind. Then the 
imitators of Yorick appear upon the scene, and in the fifth 
scene unhired bards, running loose merely for the sake of some- 
thing new, try to destroy the temple of the Greek gods.^ This, 
too, shows a kindly attitude toward Young,^ but venom for 
his distasteful imitators. His preface, subsequently added, 
says the poem was not intended to satirize individual poets, 
but the prevalent craze of imitation. The lines that depict the 
imitators of Young's "Night Thoughts" read: — 

"Die Lustgefilde waren stiunm; 
Die Klagen sender Ende: 
Man weinte, wusste nicht warum;"' 

Friedrich von Matthisson (1761-1831) 

Matthisson's letters, incorporated in his works as memoirs, 
" Erinnerungen," speak of Young in a tone that shows he was 
very familiar with the "Night Thoughts." * In 1785, he de- 
scribes a hermitage, in the garden of which there were many 
inscriptions largely taken from Young.^ The next year he 
made the acquaintance of Ebert in Braunschweig, of whom he 
writes in ardent admiration, speaking of him as "der Vertraute 

1 "Sammtliche Werke." Zurich, 1825. Vol. II, pp. 52-53. 

^ In his poem, which was later not included in his works, " Ueber die Wahr- 
heit," Diisseldorf, 1771, Jacobi says on occasion he will weep with Young, 
showing here, too, his kindly feeling toward the original "Night Thoughts" 
poet. Cf. "Hallers Gedichte." Hirzel. Frauenfeld, 1882, p. cdlxxiv. 

^ " SammtHche Werke," I.e. p. 56. 

* "Briefe von Friedrich Matthisson." Zurich, 1795. Part I, p. 31. 

^ Cf. ibid., Part II, p. 24. 



118 

Youngs." ^ Later, however, Matthisson turned to Gray, 
Ossian, Milton, and Klopstock, and Young does not seem to 
interest him. His elegiac poetry shows the influence of Gray 
and Ossian especially, but not of Young. That he was no ad- 
mirer of extenuated complaints is seen in his poem "Stummes 
Dulden": — 

"Feige Sterbliche nur und aberwitzige Schwarmer 
Schreyn von den Dachern ihr Weh, Mitleid erbettelnd vom Volk. 
Klage geziemt nicht dem Starken. . . ." ^ 

Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist ( 1 777-181 i) 

That Kleist did not share in the admiration of Young is 
natural, and he has left behind a tangible proof in his short 
essay on a picture, entitled " Empfindungen vor Friedrichs 
Seelandschaft." The picture, he says, lies there with its two 
or three mysterious objects like the Apokalypse, as if it had 
Young's "Night Thoughts," and since, in its monotony and 
lack of shore, it has nothing but the frame as foreground, it 
looks like a person with his eyelids cut off.^ 

JOHANN LUDWIG TiECK (1773-1853) 

In Tieck's novel "William Lovell," Mortimer can not find 
words expressive enough to assure Karl Wilmont how much 
he misses him. In his despair he longs to turn his ink into black 
songs of complaint, or to copy any passage of the "Night 
Thoughts." * And in the same novel the Countess Blanville 
says she is as sentimental as Rousseau's Julie: a little melan- 
choly, a slight touch of Young, and a moral babbler, as tedious 
as the heroines of English novels.^ 

But a little later in life Tieck makes Young the subject of 

* " Erinnerungen." Zurich, 1810. Vol. I, p. 168. 

* "Schriften." Zurich, 1825. Vol. I, p. 215. 

« "Sammtliche Werke." Kurschner's "D.N.L." Vol. IV, p. 289. 

* Ludwig Tieck's "Schriften." Berlin, Remur, 1828, Vol. VI, Part L 
p. 29. 

^ Ibid., p. 78. 



119 

satire, when he introduces the "Night Thoughts" in "Der 
gestiefelte Kater," as follows : — 

"Prinzessin 
Hier ist mein Versuch, ich habe ihn Nachtgedanken uberschrieben. 

Leander (liest) 

Treflich ! Geistreich ! — Ach ! mir ist als hor' ich die mitternachtliche 
Stunde Zwolf schlagen. Wann haben Sie das geschrieben? 

Prinzessin 
Gestern Mittag, nach dem Essen." ' 

Clemens Maria Brentano (1778-1842) 

That Brentano, as a representative of the Romantic School, 
felt no direct sympathy with Young's "Complaint," can be 
seen from the following verses : — 

"Die Klage, sie wecket 
Den Todten nicht auf, 
Die Liebe nur decket 
Den Vorhang Dir auf." ' 

* Cf. ibid., Vol. V, Act I, Scene II, p. 190. 

' Written in an undated letter to a relative who had just lost a child. Ca. 
1800. 



CHAPTER IV 

OTHER WORKS OF YOUNG IN GERMANY 

I. "The Love of Fame, the Universal Passion. In Seven 
Characteristical Satires" 

The story of Young's "Satires" in Germany is easily told. 
Unknown until many years after Pope's superior satires had 
found response in Germany, Young's work was eclipsed before 
it had fairly emerged above the horizon. Then, too, in Young's 
"Satires" there is so much that has only a local bearing, that 
they were destined to remain food chiefly for English thought 
of the period in which they were written. Pope was more uni- 
versal; he could find response wherever man thought on man. 

Altho the "Satires" were written as early as 1725-1728, 
the first notice that seems to have appeared in Germany bears 
the date 1745 and is of the fourth edition. This review by 
Gottsched analyzes the first four Satires, quotes 130 verses 
from the original and translates them into German prose, with 
a r^sum6 of the whole work. Gottsched finds the method of 
Young all that could be desired, and expresses a wish that his 
fellow-countrymen might satirize German conditions after the 
manner of Young. Altho Gottsched attributed these "Satires" 
to Glover, thus robbing Young temporarily of some fame, 
his review served to call attention to the work.^ 

By 1749, Rodmer had studied the "Satires," and his Neue 
Critische Bricje added to the popularity not only of the poems, 
but also of Young, by citing as sufficient proof of the excellence 
of the "Satires" the fact that they were the work of the " Author of 
the * Night Thoughts.' " The review translates numerous verses 

* Thruout this chapter all works that can easily be found under the given 
date in the Bibliography, Chapter V, are not cited in the footnotes. 

120 



121 

of the "Satires," probably Bodmer's own work, altho that 
has recently been disputed/ 

It is quite natural to suppose that all who read and studied the 
"Night Thoughts" in these years also became acquainted with 
the "Satires," but the extent of this familiarity, as well of the 
influence they had upon the minds of German readers, is very 
sparsely attested. Hagedom mentions them and quotes a 
few verses in 1752,^ and Gleim, Lenz, and others have left 
behind proof of their acquaintance with the work. In 1753, 
a Hamburg periodical translates and paraphrases, to apply 
to German conditions, some 80 verses of Young's "Satires," 
— an endeavor to utilize them along the lines suggested by 
Gottsched. 

The first attempt at a complete translation was made in prose 
(1755) by an unknown translator, who published his work in 
Frankfort and Leipzig and revised it the next year. Both 
editions, strange to say, seem to have excited no comment at 
the time, even upon the great inferiority of the translation. It 
was, however, the weakness of this rendition that inspired 
Ebert later to retrieve the reputation of this work of Young and 
to give it a place alongside the "Night Thoughts" in his zealous 
labors : a translation that was announced upon the title-page 
of the 1760 annotated edition of the "Night Thoughts," but 
was not pubHshed until 1771. This translation of the " Satires" 
evinces the same care and erudition that was so evident in the 
new edition of the "Night Thoughts," both in the faithful re- 
production of the original and in the explanatory notes, which 
are not so copious, however, as those to the "Night Thoughts." 
The original is printed on the pages opposite, as was done in 
the preceding volumes containing the "Night Thoughts." 

The translation received favorable criticism, and Ebert was 
given the credit of having rescued the work from the disgrace of 
the previous miserable translations. Doubt was expressed 
by some as to the value of the notes, but on the whole the 
attitude of critics was very friendly. The year 1772 brought a 

* Cf. " Johann Jakob Bodmer, Denkschrift zum C. C Geburtstag." Zurich, 
1900, p. 341. 

^ Cf. the preface to the edition of 1800 of Hagedorn's works, p. xxviii. 



122 

new edition, without notes or English text, likewise in Braun- 
schweig ; and two years later a reprint appeared in the SchafiF- 
hausen edition, also German text only, without notes. This 
was again reprinted in 1777, as Vol. IV of the Schaffhausen edi- 
tion of the "Night Thoughts" and "Satires," and also sepa- 
rately with a new title-page. During the next year, the 1771 
annotated edition passed thru a new edition, likewise in 
Schaffhausen, as Vol. V of the four volumes that already con- 
tained the 1774 and 1777 editions of the "Satires" without notes. 

When Ebert's translation of the "Night Thoughts" and 
other works of Young was published in the "Sammlung von 
Religions- und Sittenschriften," in Speier (1780), the new 
editor omitted the "Satires," declaring satire and religion 
incompatible and including the "Resignation" instead. An- 
other anonymous edition, published in Frankfort in 1782, refuted 
this opinion, however, and included the "Satires," on the 
ground that satire is a splendid, iconoclastic aid in the benefi- 
cent work of religious teachings. 

When Professor Eckert published his improvement on Ebert, 
Mannheim, 1780, he, of course, included the "Satires," prac- 
tically another reprint of Ebert's already popular translation, 
which by this time had passed thru five editions, the Frank- 
fort edition of 1782 being the sixth. Eckert's edition appeared 
again in 1784, and then ten years elapsed before another came 
out. Ebert's final edition (1794), annotated and with the English 
original, is the last one of the eighteenth century, the reprint 
published in Leipzig in 181 1 being the very final one to appear. 

The years 1804 and 1805 brought selections of verses of the 
" Satires" by Hensler, in Halem's Irene and in the Neue Teutsche 
Merkur, the last and only attempt of the nineteenth century to 
translate Young's "Satires," 

No imitation was called forth in Germany, even influence 
seems lacking, beyond reviews and notices in periodicals and 
works of criticism. Schmid's "Theorie der Poesie" (1767) 
mentions the "Satires" favorably, and the " Betrachtungen 
iiber die englischen Dichter" (1779) considers the work excel- 
lent; otherwise the notices are very meager and are confined 
to Ebert's translation. 



123 

The one writer, Gockingk, who left behind the most tangible 
proof of influence, did so in a short parody on Young, entitled 
"Golddurst," a poem of some sixty verses directed against the 
mercenary tendencies and corruption of the Germans,^ the 
opening verses of which run as follows : — 

"Die allgemeine Leidenschaft 
1st nicht Ruhm ! In meinem Vaterlande 
Zum mindsten nicht. Denn ach ! der Deutsche rafft 
Nach Goide nur. Was kiimmert ihn die Schande? 

Was thut der Deutsche nicht fiir Gold ! — 
Ein schoner Ruhm ! Ein Sprichwort edier Zonen ! 
Wie? bauet er, dem Britten gleich, sein Feld? 
Und nahrt er schon zu viele Millionen?" 

2. The Tragedies 

"BusiRis, King of Egypt," "The Revenge," "The 
Brothers" 

An anonymous prose translation of all three tragedies was 
pubhshed in 1756 and reprinted in 1767, — the only editions 
including all three. The Beytrdge zur neuesten Geschichte der 
Litter atur (1759) reviews these translations and praises Young's 
portrayal of natural characters, as follows: "His characters 
live and are the types that the stage needs, if the spectator is 
to be moved." Even the points in which the characters are 
overdravm the reviewer excuses as exigencies of the stage. He 
commends the English license, but still is of the opinion that a 
little more moderation and closer observance of the Unities 
would make their plays still greater. Schmid's "Theorie der 
Poesie" (1768) reviews these translations, in the reprint of 
1767, as a "most miserable" rendition. The Bibliothek der 
schonen Wissenschaften is of the opinion that Young's tragedies 
read well, but are not successful on the stage. 

(a) "Busiris^^ (1719) 

The second translation of " Busiris" appeared, likewise anony- 
mously, in Basel, in 1758, and was unfavorably reviewed by 

' Cf. the 181 7 edition of his works. 



124 

the Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften. Gottsched mentions 
only this one of the three tragedies in his " Handlexicon " of 
1760. " Busiris" was also done into prose by Eckert, in Vol. V 
of his 1784 edition of Young's works, — the best of the three 
translations that appeared in Germany. The Neue Bibliothek 
der schonen Wissenschaften (1767) says that the play has many 
good passages, which are, however, mingled with so much bom- 
bast and mediocrity, that one can not but wonder how a genius 
that attains such heights can fall so low. 

(b) ''The Brothers'' (1726)^ 

The same year (1756) that produced the above-discussed, 
anonymous translation of Young's three tragedies also brought 
a second rendition of "The Brothers," anonymous and in prose. 
In 1764, J. H. Schlegel, in Kopenhagen, translated the play, a 
good reproduction in blank verse, with a historical sketch ap- 
pended, showing how closely Young followed his source in 
Roman history, Livy. The translation received very favorable 
criticism. 

A third translation was published anonymously in Frankfort 
and Leipzig, in 1 768, very likely a reprint of the prose transla- 
tion of 1756 and 1767 ; ^ and a translation, bearing the title " Per- 
sius und Demetrius, oder die feindlichen Briider," in monotonous 
Alexandrines, appeared the next year in Prague. 

"The Brothers" was quite generally considered the weakest 
of Young's tragedies ; the Neue Bibliothek der schonen Wissen- 
schajten (1757) calls it a copy of a French play,^ and says the 
purpose was far better than the execution, Young having do- 
nated the proceeds to the poor.* The Brittische Bibliothek, in 

' Altho completed in 1726, this tragedy was not made public until 1753. 
Cf. W. Thomas: "Le poete Edward Young," pp. 184-185. It is discussed 
here before " The Revenge," however, because like " Busiris" it is less important. 

^ Cf. Bibliography, infra, 1768. 

^ As a matter of fact Young's tragedy, " The Brothers," is merely a plagiar- 
ized version of Corneille's "Persee et Demetrius." 

* Young had intended to donate the profits to the Society for the Propagation 
of the Gospel, and realizing only £400 on the play, he added £600 from his 
own purse. 



125 

Leipzig, reviews, also in 1757, "The Brothers" as acted in Drury 
Lane and points out the parallel in Corneille, but thinks that 
Young's treatment is superior to Corneille's, and that, altho 
inferior to" Busiris"and"The Revenge," its faults are due to the 
nation, not to Young. Schmid, on the contrary, in his " Anwei- 
sung der vornehmsten Biicher " (1781) pronounces "The Broth- 
ers" Young's best tragedy ; but he was very probably influenced 
by the superiority of Schlegel's translation. 

(c) "The Revenge^' (1721) 

This, the most successful of the three tragedies, was the one 
most translated and reviewed, the one most favorably received 
in Germany, and the only one that exerted any influence. The 
similarity to Shakspere's "Othello" was recognized at once by 
all, several critics even calling it "an improved Othello";' 
but most of them judged it correctly as an imitation. 

The Neue Bihliothek der schonen Wissenschaften, in 1767, says 
the plot is borrowed from "Othello," the character of Zanga 
from Mrs. Behn's " Abdelazer," and gives a detailed comparison 
of "The Revenge" with " Othello." Schmid, in his "Theorie 
der Poesie" (1768), as well as in his " Anweisung der vornehm- 
sten Biicher" (1781), calls Young's play an imitation of Shak- 
spere. 

The most important review of "The Revenge" was written by 
Gerstenberg in his Brieje iiber Merkwilrdigkeiten der Litteratur 
(1766).^ In this article Gerstenberg considers "The Revenge" 
not so much a copy of "Othello" as "the converting of an 
irregular drama into a tragedy." The original he considers 
superior to the imitation, but, he says, considering merely vio- 
lent emotions and tragical purpose, the palm goes to the imitator.^ 
Young, Gerstenberg continues, viewed the nature of jealousy 
from the side that was to wrest a shudder, horror, and sympathy 
from the heart. Shakspere endeavored to develop the finest 

' Cf. Brittische Bihliothek (1757); Bihliothek der schonen Wissenschaften 
(1760). 

^ Cf. reprint in " Deutsche Litteraturdenkmale des i8. und 19. Jahrhun- 
derts." Vol. XXIX, pp. 1 14-125. ^ Cf. also, supra, pp. 23-24, 96-97. 



126 

shades of jealousy and to reveal its most secret machinations. 
Young portrayed passions, Shakspere the sentiment of passions. 
In this tragedy Young's ignorance of man is revealed most 
clearly ; the characters are drawn according to French patterns. 
Zanga, with all his villainy, is still depicted as a man of sublime 
philosophy like all of Young's heroes. lago is a rascal who 
makes no pretensions to greatness of soul. In the portrayal 
of jealousy Young has successfully followed Shakspere, Ger- 
stenberg admits, and he thinks that the struggle in Alonzo of 
love and hatred is depicted in such vivid colors that both the 
reader and spectator must burst into streams of tears. 

And later, in the "Dritte Sammlung," discussing Shakspere, 
Gerstenberg says, "Young is magnificent and sublime; but 
his masterpiece will nevertheless always be the one tragedy that 
he created after Shakspere's great model." ^ 

Having, like the other two tragedies, been translated into prose 
by an unknown translator in 1756, and reprinted in 1767, "The 
Revenge" also appeared in the second anonymous translation 
of 1758, with " Busiris," in Basel. " Die Deutsche Schaubiihne" 
(1761), of Vienna, contains Ruber's translation, entitled " Zanga, 
oder die Rache." This is a stage version translated freely, in 
which the tragedy is remodelled to suit the taste of the translator, 
as is indicated in his words, "a new tragedy in prose, taken from 
the English of Young." In Act V, Leonore dies on the stage 
and is not led out by Isabella, and the greatest heightening of 
effect is produced by the change which makes Zanga stab him- 
self with the dagger that he tears out of Alonzo's breast. 

Schmid's "Theater der Britten" reprinted one of the earlier 
anonymous prose translations, for which the Almanack der deut- 
schen Musen of Leipzig (1771) censured him, on the ground that 
such miserable translations should not be continued. Eckert's 
translation, " Die Rache," appeared in 1784, and, as in the case 
of " Busiris," is the best German version of Young's "Revenge," 

The final translation is by Bliimner (1794), likewise in prose. 

In the preface, the translator calls this the "work of a genius," 

and expresses his opinion that it ought to find a warm reception 

in Germany, considering the prevailing dearth of good plays. 

' Cf. "Litteraturdenkmalc," I.e. p. 277. 



127 

Bliimner considers "Othello" superior as a natural character. 
In "The Revenge" he sees the hand of the artist; it is more 
brilliant, tho Shakspere's play is more true to life ; and yet, 
the critic goes on to say, the admirable manner in which Zanga 
leads his victim on, the excellent struggle between Alonzo's 
love and his desire for revenge, the denouement and final catas- 
trophe, all show the thinking poet and raise him above the rank 
of a mere imitator. This version combined Acts III and IV, 
since they really form one element in the plot. At the end of 
Act I, the parting of Leonore and Alonzo in sorrow and uncer- 
tainty was changed into a happy declaration of love, and at the 
end of the play, altho Zanga is led off, as in Young, the final 
speech of Alvarez is omitted. 

"Busiris" and "The Brothers" did not possess the qualities 
to make them good stage plays, and were too weak to inspire 
imitation. "The Revenge," however, as the stage versions of 
Huber and Bliimner would indicate, was better adapted to the 
stage; it was read more and was taken as model for the two 
tragedies, " Der Freygeist " and " Brutus, "of the youthful drama- 
tist 

Joachim Wilhelm von Brawe (i 738-1 758) 

The similarity of the "Freygeist," written in 1 756-1 757 and 
printed in 1758, to Young's "Revenge" attracted attention at 
once, and Ramler dwells upon it in the introduction to the first 
edition, claiming that this similarity is no blemish on the honor 
of the young dramatist. Lessing's "Miss Sara Sampson" was 
also a model, but that does not concern us here. 

The main points of similarity between the "Freygeist" and 
"The Revenge" are as follows:^ As Alonzo is led by Zanga 
to believe his wife untrue and to have his friend Carlos mur- 
dered as the paramour who has claimed her affections, and 
finally to kill himself; so Cleredon of the "Freygeist" is induced 
by his rival Henly to believe his former sweetheart unfaithful, 
and to kill his best friend in a duel, after which he slays his false 

' These facts on Brawe are all taken from the excellent monograph, " Joachim 
Wilhelm Brawe. Der Schiiler Lessings." August Sauer. Strassburg, 1878. 

cf. pp. 42-45. 70-73- 



128 

friend Henly and himself. The same means are employed, 
lies and forged letters; and after the accomplishment of his 
purpose, Henly like Zanga confesses his plans of revenge in 
triumph, and gloats over his victim. The opening scenes of 
both dramas are similar : the plan of revenge is developed simi- 
larly, it is to be the Hfe's work of both villains ; simple murder 
will not suffice, their victims must be tormented and painfully 
racked. Life has no more worth for the villains after their 
deed has been done. The whole tone is that of Young's "Re- 
venge"; in both tragedies the gloomy cloud of revenge hovers 
over the victims ready to burst at any moment. 

Brawe's second tragedy, "Brutus," completed in 1758, shortly 
before his death, but not published until ten years later, also 
shows very plainly influence of "The Revenge," perhaps not in 
so many details, but much more in the main traits. In both 
there is the element of patriotism, and national hatred is alhed 
with family hatred. As Alonzo had killed in battle Zanga's 
father, a Mohammedan prince, and had made captive and slave 
the son who as heathen hated the Spaniard; so in "Brutus," 
Publius, as Samnite, is the deadly enemy of the Romans. 
Brutus has killed Publius's father and brothers in battle. Pub- 
lius, like Zanga, seeks to avenge the protracted servitude of his 
race on the man >vhom he hates personally. He feels the spirits 
of his fallen countrymen calling for vengeance ; he invokes them 
for aid, and, after the success of his deed, he calls upon them to 
rejoice with him. And as Zanga gloats over his crushed victim, 
Publius is too overcome with joy at the sight of the annihilated 
Brutus to desire anything more as satisfaction. 

Thus Young's "Revenge" came into Germany at the time 
when Lessing's "Miss Sara Sampson," having been inspired by 
Lillo's "George Barnwell," had taught the Germans, as Lillo 
had shown the English, that the bourgeoisie also furnished 
suitable material for serious tragedy. "The Revenge" worked 
hand in hand with this movement, and thus became one of the 
prototypes of the new drama in Germany, built upon the pathos 
of the life of the middle classes.^ 

^ The name of the Moor, Zanga, in Grillparzer's " Dor Traum, ein Leben," 
^yas most likely taken from Young's character; but there is no influence. Both 



129 



3- The Minor Works included in Ebert's Translation 

OF 1754-1756 

These works, which remained practically without influence 
upon German hterature, have nevertheless left behind proof of 
the fact that they were read, and that they aroused at least a 
passing interest among the German reading public. 

Ebert, having completed his labors on the "Night Thoughts," 
in 175 1- 1752, for the first edition, turned his attention to Young's 
less important prose and verse, which can be most easily fol- 
lowed in the various editions of this translation of 1754-1756. 
These works are: "A Poem on the Last Day" (17 13), "The 
Force of Rehgion or Vanquished Love" (17 14), "A Paraphrase 
on Part of the Book of Job" (17 19) — the translation of which 
appeared in 1754; "A Vindication of Providence: or, a True 
Estimate of Human Life" (1728) — which was translated in 
1755 ; " Two Epistles to Mr. Pope concerning the Authors of the 
Age" (1730), "The Centaur not Fabulous: in Five Letters to 
a Friend, on the Life in Vogue" (1755) — which appeared in 
translation in 1756. 

These works were all included in Part II of the new collection 
by Ebert, entitled :" Einige Werke von Dr. Eduard Young" 
(1767, 1777, 1799); in the Speier edition, "Sammlung von 
Religions- und Sittenschriften," Vols. II-III, 1780; in the 
reprint in Frankfort (1805) ; and in Eckert's edition of Young's 
works, Vols. III-IV, Mannheim, 1 780-1 784, virtually another 
edition of Ebert's translation. These editions are all in prose, 
German text only, without notes, and passed without reviews 
or notices in contemporary literature. 

(a) "A Poem on the Last Day^^ (1713) 

Steele's Guardian brought the first verses of the "Last Day" 
into Germany, so unostentatiously, however, that their presence 

villains are enslaved captives, but Young's Moor leads his victim on in order 
to avenge his wrongs, whereas Grillparzer's Zanga simply desires to gratify his 
longing for a martial career. 



130 

was hardly detected. That periodical of 17 13 contains 26 verses 
of this poem shortly to appear, and so, when Louise Gottsched 
published her translation as Der Aufseher, Leipzig, 1745, she 
incidentally became the first German translator of verses of the 
"Last Day." 

In 1757, three years after Ebert's translation, a hexameter 
translation was published in Basel, in " Vier auserlesene Meister- 
stiicke so vieler englischen Dichter," etc., which was reviewed 
in the Litteraturbrieje by Lessing. The translation purporting 
to be Elizabeth Rowe's "Auserlesene Poesien aus den meisten 
und besten Englischen Dichtem," Zurich, 1761, contains eleven 
selections from the "Last Day" in rimed trochaic octameters, 
unfavorably reviewed in the Leipziger Zeitungen, and in 1760, 
Gottsched's " Handlexicon " contains a citation from the poem; 
while a notice, in 1804, of Dmochowski's Pohsh translation 
appeared in the Gottingische Anzeigen. 

Lessing, in his " Hamburgische Dramaturgic" (1767), cites 
verse 60 of Book I : " Young sagt von der Sonne, es ware Sunde 
in den Heiden gewesen, sie nicht anzubeten." ^ J. A. Schlegel, 
in his poem "Von der Holle," draws a picture of the Judgment 
Day in language that resembles Young's "Last Day," ^ but 
which may also owe its origin to " Night Thoughts," IX. Influ- 
ence of the "Last Day" is very uncertain and difficult to deter- 
mine, since most of the remarkable passages have parallels in 
the "Night Thoughts," which were, of course, better and more 
widely known. 

Gottsched's "Handlexicon" (1760), Schmid's "Anweisung 
der vornehmsten Biicher" (1781), and Blankenburg's "Litte- 
rarische Aufsatze" (1796) contain notices of the " Last Day," 
the "Force of ReHgion," and the "Paraphrase on Part of the 



» R. Boxberger (" Lessings Werke," Kiirschner's " D.N.L.," Vol. X, p. i6g\ 
in his note to this passage, cites "Night Thoughts," IX, verses 799-807 of 
Kayser's hexameter translation of 1761 (falsely given as 1760), Vol. II, p. 355. 
Dr. Cosack, in his " Materialien zur Hamburgischen Dramaturgic," p. 221, 
having pointed out that the passage cited by Lessing is found verbatim in the 
"Last Day," Book I, verse 60, Boxberger, in the Archiv jiir Litteraturgeschichte, 
Vol. VIII, pp. 437-438, 1879, acknowledged the correction and incorporated 
it in his note. 

' Cf. Barnstorff, l.c. p. 26. 



131 

Book of Job," but with the exception of these notices these 
works have left behind no trace in Germany. The notices in 
the Leipziger Zeitungen of 1728 and 1 731, of the "Vindication of 
Providence" are the first mentions of Young or his works in 
Germany, and the last of this particular sermon. The " Epistles 
to Mr. Pope" also received the first and last notice in that 
Leipzig periodical, in 1737. 

{h) ''The Centaur not Fabulous^' (i755) 

The "Satires" had to wait twenty years for an introduction 
into Germany (1745), but the "Centaur," appearing at the 
time when interest in Young was intense, naturally received 
immediate attention, so that the same year (1755) that produced 
the first translation of the "Satires," thirty years after they were 
written, also saw the first translation of the "Centaur," which 
Young had pubhshed in London only that very year. 

As early as May, 1755, the Leipziger Zeitungen had reviewed 
the first English edition, and by October that periodical was 
able to publish a review of the first German translation. This is 
a better piece of work than the translation of the "Satires," 
and received many very favorable reviews. Ebert's translation 
appeared the next year, and passed thru seven editions, as 
shown above; but the anonymous translation of 1755 was the 
only one to receive special notice. 

Like the "Satires," the "Centaur" exerted little tangible 
influence upon German writers. There are scattered indica- 
tions that the work was read, none that it was followed or imi- 
tated. The reason is probably to be found in the fact that in 
it Young is the moral preacher, who had said all he had to say 
about the world and man in a far better manner in his "Night 
Thoughts." Herder said (1801) Young's "Night Thoughts" 
and "Centaur" were probably read less, because the people 
saw their own images in Lorenzo and the Centaur.^ The " Night 
Thoughts" were read zealously, however, and whether Herder 
judged correctly the failure of the pubhc to read the "Centaur" 
is not attested by literary documents. The real reason is very 

1 Cf. " Werke." Suphan edition. Vol. XXIV, p. io6. 



132 

likely that already given above, the fact that the "Night 
Thoughts" overshadowed this work, which after all offered 
very little that was new. 

(4) "Resignation" and Other Minor Works 

(a) "Resignation^^ 

The "Resignation" (1762), Young's last work, was first 
translated, in 1763, by Dusch in Altona, under the title "Die 
Verlaugnung," and a little later the same year, by Ebert in 
Braunschweig, under the title "Die Gelassenheit im Leiden," 
both in prose. Ebert's translation has the German text only, 
whereas Dusch printed the original on the pages opposite. 
Both were reviewed immediately after their appearance, Ebert's 
favorably, Dusch's with both ardent praise and severe criticism. 
Dusch's translation appeared in only this one edition, whereas 
Ebert's was pubHshed in two others (1766, 1776), the second 
passing without notice, the third being favorably reviewed. 

Ebert's edition was further reprinted in the 1782, Frankfort, 
supplementary volume to the Speier edition of Ebert's transla- 
tions, but was not included in Eckert's copy of Ebert (1784). 

The "Handbuch der EngHschen Sprache" (1793) contains 
verses 1-12 of the poem in the original, and the story of the 
"Resignation" in German literature is told. Being a weak 
repetition of many of the maxims of the "Night Thoughts," it 
is quite natural that no influence should have been exerted by 
the poem. 

(b) Odes and Lyrics 

I. " Ode to the King." II. "A Discourse on Lyric Poetry." 
III. "Ocean: An Ode" (1728). "Imperium Pelagi: A 
Naval Lyric. Preface. The Merchant" (1730). IV. "Sea- 
Piece: Containing I. — The British Sailor's Exultation. II. — 
His Prayer before Engagement" (1733). 

Young's treatise on lyric poetry was translated in "Sammlung 
vermischter Schriften" (1759), and the fifth volume of Eckert's 
translation (1784) contains a German version of the "Sea- 



133 

Piece." These are the only ones of the above-named short 
works of Young that were translated into German. 

An edition of the English original of the "Sea- Piece" was pub- 
lished in Vienna, in 1783, however, and the Unterhaltungen of 
Hamburg, in 1770, announced the publication posthumously of 
"The Merchant." The reviewer says that this mediocre poem, 
if it is really one of Young's, should never have been published, 
since Young had not talent for the lyric. This is the attitude of 
all the critics who mention Young's odes and lyrics. Schmid's 
"Theorie der Poesie" (1767) calls lyric poetry Young's weakest 
side; his "Anweisung der vomehmsten Biicher" (1781) re- 
views the four odes as the least important productions of Young's 
pen, and sees in the fact that" The Merchant" was not published 
by Young himself, the poet's own hatred for the work.* Blanken- 
burg's "Zusatze" (1796) brings a notice of the 1759 translation 
of the "Discourse on Lyric Poetry," and speaks of Young's 
four "cold odes." 

(c) Gottsched, who, in his sketch of Young in the "Hand- 
lexicon" of 1760, forgot to mention the "Night Thoughts,'* 
"Satires," and "Conjectures," the "Centaur," "Revenge," 
and "Brothers," includes seven of the least important writings 
of Young, of which three received no other mention elsewhere 
in Germany. These are: "On Michael Angelo's Famous 
Piece of the Crucifixion" (1718), "On the Late Queen's Death" 
(1714), "A letter to Mr. Tickell, occasioned by the Death of 
the Right Hon. Joseph Addison, Esq." (1719). 

Of the "Epistle to the Right Honourable George Lord Lans- 
downe" (17 12), which Gottsched also includes, about fifty 
verses were published in English, in the Brittische Bibliothek 
of 1778, and Ebert discusses this "Epistle" in the Deutsches 
Museum (1780), in a letter to Eschenburg. 

One could hardly expect such ephemeral local writings to 
influence German readers, but the mere fact that they were 
mentioned in Germany, and that some were translated, fur- 
nishes a very strong proof of the intensity of the interest taken 
at that time in Young on the other side of the Channel. 

' Young had, as a matter of fact, published this poem in 1730, but he later 
rejected it when he published collected editions of his works. 



CHAPTER V 

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF GERMAN TRANSLATIONS, 
EDITIONS, REVIEWS, AND NOTICES 

I. Introduction 

The following bibliography contains the results of research 
in all the leading German libraries and bookshops, but does not 
claim absolute completeness. The material given is, with very 
few exceptions, based upon personal investigation. In a few 
cases, however, it was impossible to find the works cited or to 
obtain them for personal perusal; but, being mostly of minor 
importance, sufficient data could be gathered from reviews in 
most cases. Such examples are always noted. 

It is the purpose of this bibliography to furnish as complete a 
list as possible of the German translations and editions of 
Young's works with the pertinent notices and reviews in chrono- 
logical order, so as to reflect in contemporary literature a picture 
of the reception that was accorded to Young in Germany. The 
reviews are not arranged chronologically, but are, wherever 
possible, appended to the works they review. Some of the most 
important articles, especially those that do not hinge directly 
upon some definite edition or translation, are given independent 
notice. Titles are as a rule given as found, retaining, as far as 
feasible, antiquated spelling, punctuation, etc. In the case of 
periodicals and works of minor importance, abbreviations are 
used, but the titles of translations are in most cases a repro- 
duction of the original title-page, even including the house of 
publication, later editions being abbreviated and referring back 
to the first notice for fuller data. 

Special completeness was aimed at for the decades 17 50-1 780, 
in which Young exerted the greatest influence, but even here the 
bibliography does not claim absolute completeness. There may 

134 



135 

be other reprints of Ebert's translations, for instance, that it was 
impossible to locate ; besides, dates in catalogs are often wrongly 
printed. After 1800 only the translations and most important 
notices are included. No attempt was made, for example, to 
include the hundreds of text-books, anthologies, and works on 
literary criticism and history, in which Young's works are 
treated without special bearing. 

2. Bibliography 

1728. Neuer^ Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen des Jahres 
MDCCXXVIII. Anderer Theil. Leipzig. (Vol. 
XIV.) 

Notice, p. 607, dated Leipzig, Aug. 5, of the publication, in 
"Londen," of A Vindication of Providence, a sermon by "Herr 
Young." 

1 73 1. Neuer Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen des Jahres 
MDCCXXXI. Anderer Theil. Leipzig. (Vol. XVII.) 

Notice, p. 482, dated Leipzig, July 9, of the appearance, in "Lon- 
den," of the third edition of the above-mentioned sermon by "D. 
Young," under the title, A True Estimate of Human Life. 

1737. Nothiger Beytrag zu den Neuen Zeitungen von Gelehrten 
Sachen, oder Umstandliche Auszuge aus denen 
Gelehrten Monatsschriften, welche in den Neuen 
Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen nicht Platz hatten. 
Anderer Theil. Leipzig. 11. Band, 18. Stuck, 
pp. 286-287 •■ 2) Two Epistles to Mr. Pope concerning 
the Authors of the Age. 1730. 

A very favorable review of the purpose and merit of these epistles. 

1745. Neuer Buchersaal der schonen Wissenschaften und freyen 
Kunste. Des I. Bandes, I. Stiick. Leipzig, im 
Monat Julii. (Gottsched.) Pp. 52-73: Review of 
the Love of Fame, the universal Passion, in seven 
characteristical Satires. The fourth edition. Lon- 
don, 1 741. D. i. Die Liebe zum Ruhme, als die 

^ This title is given as found upon the title-page. 



136 

allgemeine Leidenschaft, in sieben Satiren vorgestellt. 
Vierte Auflage. 

A very favorable review in which Gottsched attributes the Satires 
to Glover. The first four Satires are very carefully analyzed, and 130 
verses are quoted from the original and translated into German prose ; 
then follows a general statement of the nature of Satires V-VII. 

Der Aufseher, oder Vormund. Aus dem Englandischen 
ins Deutsche iibersetzt von L. A. V. G(ottschedin). 
Leipzig, 1745. 

This is the first German translation of the Guardian and contains 
16 verses of the manuscript of the Last Day, before its publication, 
p. 262 ; 10 verses, p. 264. The latter selection is Book I, verses 13-22, 
whereas only 8 verses of the first selection, the original opening of 
Book II, were retained by Young in the poem when published, slightly 
altered, as verses 5-12 of Book II. 

1746. Gottingische Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen auf das 
Jahr MDCCXLVI. Gottingen, 22. Stiick. Den 17. 

Martius. 

Under London, p. 173, there is a notice of the completion of the 
excellent didactic poem "desz D. Younge the nightothougths." ' 

Neuer Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen auf das Jahr 
MDCCXLVI. Erster Theil. Leipzig, den 16. Jun. 

Notice of the completion of the Night Thoughts, pp. 457-458, 
among the new announcements from London. Contains a very 
favorable review. 

1749. Neue Critische Brief e iiber gantz verschiedene Sachen 
von verschiedenen Verfassern. Zurich, 1749. 

The 35th "Brief," pp. 287-289, contains a poem entitled An Sipha, 
dealing with the theme of friendship, and is a free translation and 
adaptation of Night II, verses 461-537. The 56th "Brief," pp. 391- 
399, contains a very favorable review of the Satires and their purpose, 
as outlined by Young in his preface. Satire 11,^ verses 21-44, are 
translated into blank verse. The 57th "Brief," pp. 399-401, contains 
numerous selections of the Satires in prose translation. The 64th 
"Brief," pp. 448-451, has a glowing tribute to the Night Thoughts, 
and a translation of verses 627-648, 677-689 of the sixth Night. These 
translations are probably by Bodmer himself.' 

* Corrected in a note on p. 188, to " nightthougths." 

'Incorrectly cited as Satire I. ' Cf. supra, p. 121. 



137 

I750' Gottingische Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen auf das 
Jahr MDCCL. Gottingen, 103. Stiick. Den 12. 
October. 

Under London, pp. 819-820, notice is given of a new and better 
edition of the "nigth thougths," followed by a review that character- 
izes Nights V-IX. 

1 75 1. Uebersetzungen einiger Poetischen und Prosaischen 

Werke der besten Englischen Schriftsteller. Erster 
Band. Worinn folgende drey Gedichte von D. 
Eduard Young enthalten sind: Klagen, oder Nacht- 
gedanken iiber Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit : Der 
Jiingste Tag : Und eine Paraphrase iiber einen Theil 
des Buchs Hiob. Erstes Stiick. Braunschweig und 
Hildesheim, verlegts seel. Ludolph Schroders Erben, 
1751- 

This translation, the preface of which bears the date of April 10, 
1 751, is the first by Prof. Johann Arnold Ebert.' Vol. I, Parts I 
and II, contains the first seven Nights translated into prose, 316 pp. 
The last two Nights did not appear until 1 752, q.v. The second edition 
appeared in 1753, the third in 1756, and the fourth in 1763, q.v. 

Reviews: Critische Nachrichten aus dem Reiche der Gelehrsam- 
keit. Auf das Jahr 1751. Berlin, 1752. 26. Stiick, pp. 206-207. 
A very favorable review, which betrays the fact that the writer was not 
acquainted with the original, in the statement that the Night Thoughts 
consist of four Nights, and in the mention of rime. 

Crito. Eine Monatsschrift. Zurich, 1751. This review is re- 
viewed in turn by the Westphalische Bemiihungen zur Aufnahme 
des Geschmacks und der Sitten. Lemgo, 1753. Erster Theil. 
Zweites Stuck, pp. 1 16-122. 

1752. Uebersetzungen einiger Poetischen und Prosaischen 

Werke der besten EngHschen Schriftsteller. Erster 
Band. Drittes Stiick. Braunschweig und Hildes- 
heim, verlegts seel. Ludolph Schroders Erben, 1752. 

This volume contains Nights VIII-IX, pp. 319-507, and is a con- 
tinuation of Ebert's translation of 1751, q.v. The second edition 
appeared in 1753, the third in 1756, and the fourth in 1763, q.v. 

Der Christen-Sieg als das einzige Mittel wider die Furcht 
des Todes aus denen Nachtgedanken des Herm Young 

' Ebert was not appointed Professor until 1753, to be sure. 



138 

ins Teutsche iibersetzet von Hartmann von Geusau. 
Jena, bey Christian Heinrich Cuno, 1752. 

This is a translation of Night IV, into Alexandrines. It is an 
adaptation rather than translation of Young, done into very miserable, 
monotonous verses, vi + 88 pp. The preface bears the date of 
Feb. 20, 1752. 

Reviews: Neuer Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen. Leipzig, 
1752, p. 542. 

Gottingische Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen. Gottingen, 1752, 

P- 372- 

Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken iiber Leben, Tod, und 
Unsterblichkeit. Englisch und Deutsch. Die vier 
ersten Nachte. Gottingen, bey Johann Wilhelm 
Schmidt, Univ. Buchhandler, 1752. 

This translation, which appeared anonymously, is the work of 
Ch. B. Kayser. It contains, as preface, selections from Tschamer's 
letter to Haller on the circumstances that gave rise to the Night 
Thoughts. It is in hexameters, and prints the EngHsh original on 
the pages opposite. 225 pp. For the enlarged and revised edition, 
cf. infra, 1760, 1761. 

Reviews: Gottingische Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen. Got- 
tingen, 1752, pp. 589-390. Favorable. This is by Haller. 

Berlinische Privilegirte Staats- und gelehrte Zeitung, 1753, pp. 
152-153. This review is by Lessing, who hopes the translation will 
be continued. Cf. the Lachmann-Muncker edition of Lessing's 
Works, Vol. V, pp. 152-153. 

Gelehrte Nachrichten. Rostock und Wissmar, 1753, pp. 452-453. 

An Young. 

An ode by Klopstock, "Stirb, prophetischer Greis, stirb!" etc., 
written in 1752, while learning English from the Night Thoughts. 
16 verses. To be found in all the editions of Klopstock's works. 
Used as frontispiece in Stemau's translation; cf. 1825, 1827. 

1753. Uebersetzungen einiger Poetischen und Prosaischen 
Werke der besten EngHschen Schriftsteller. Erster 
Band. Worinn D. Eduard Youngs Klagen, oder, 
Nachtgedanken iiber Leben, Tod, und Unsterbhchkeit, 
enthalten sind. Zweyte und verbesserte Auflage. 
Braunschweig und Hildesheim, 1753. 

This is the second edition of the translation by Ebert, which ap- 
peared in 1 751-1752. The third edition appeared in 1756, and the 



139 

-fourth in 1763, q.v. The revision in these editions consists in very 
minor changes in phraseology. 

Hamburgische Beytrage zu den Werken des Witzes iind 
der Sittenlehre. Hamburg, 1753. Drittes Stiick. 

This contains the following selections from the Satires, mostly 
translations. Some are adaptations rather than close translations. 

Der Patriot. Nach dem Young, p. 737. 20 verses. Satire IV, 
verses 15-36. 

Der Witz vieler Schonen. Nach Young, p. 739. 12 verses. 
Satire V, verses 133-144. 

Julchen. Nach Young, p. 742. 18 verses. Satire V, verses 297-308. 

Der Hunger und die Liebe. Nach Young, p. 743. 10 verses. 
Satire V, verses 309-318. 

Die Ewige Liebe. Nach Young, p. 744. 10 verses. Satire V, 
verses 322-328. 

En einen Liebhaber schoner Bande. Nach dem Young, p. 748. 
8 verses. Satire II, verses 57-62, 96-97. 

1754. Hamburgische Beytrage zu den Werken des Witzes und 

der Sittenlehre. Zweyter Band, erstes Stiick. Ham- 
burg, 1754: Der Riickfall. Von Dr. Eduard Young, 
PP- 33-78. 

This is a translation of Night V, 1068 verses, in the original blank 
verse. The introduction says that it is the work of the late Herr 
Oeder of Thron, who found special consolation in this Night, after 
the death of his son. Herder published the first 66 verses of this 
translation in his Adrastea, Part V, pp. 293-295, in 1803, q.v. infra. 

Uebersetzungen einiger Poetischen und Prosaischen 

Werke der besten Englischen Schriftsteller. Zweyter 

Band. Erstes Stiick. Braunschweig und Hildesheim, 

1754- 

This contains Ebert's first translation of: Der Jiingste Tag; Die 

Macht der Religion ; Paraphrase iiber einen Theil des Buches Hiob, 

144 pp. Some editions bear the date 1762, which is, however, only 

a new title-page for this first and only edition. This is the first part 

of the second volume of Ebert's translation, the first volume of which 

includes the Night Thoughts. Cf. 1 751-1752. 

1755. Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken, von Leben, Tod und 

Unsterblichkeit. Eine freye poetische Uebersetzung 
aus dem Englischen des Herm Young. Frankfurt am 
Mayn, bey Johann Friedrich Fleischer, 1755. 



140 

An anonymous, trochaic octameter translation of Night I, with 
fixed caesura and rime in couplets. 29 pp., quarto, without pagination. 
Reprinted as No. i, in Drey Auserlesene Gedichte, 1759, 1762, q.v. 

Die Ruhmbegierde, die Hauptleidenschaft der Menschen. 
In Sieben Satiren. Von Dr. Edward Young. Aus der 
funften englischen Auflage iibersetzt. Frankfurt und 
Leipzig, in der Knoch- und Esslingerischen Buchhand- 
lung, 1755. 

An anonymous translation into prose of the Satires. 160 pp. 
Rather poor. For the second, revised edition, cf. injra, 1756. 

Der nicht fabelhafte Centaur in sechs Brief en an einen 
Freund iiber das im Schwange gehende Leben. Aus 
dem Englischen Herrn D. Eduard Youngs. Leipzig, 
verlegts Johann Gottfried Dyck, 1755. 

An anonymous translation, the first of the Centaur to appear. 
222 pp. 

Reviews: Neuer Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen. Leipzig, 1755, 
p. 773, under the date of Oct. 30. The same volume, p. 361, 
May 22, had reviewed the first English edition. Both reviews are 
very favorable. 

Gelehrte Nachrichten. Rostock und Wissmar, 1756, pp. 7-8, 
15-16. Praise for both the original and the translation. 

Freye Urtheile und Nachrichten zum Aufnehmen der Wissenschaften 
und Historic uberhaupt. Hamburg, 1756, p. 200. Favorable. 

Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen Kiinste, 
Vol. Ill, i, p. 200, 1758. 

Uebersetzungen einiger Poetischen und Prosaischen 
Werke der besten Englischen Schriftsteller. Zv^eyter 
Band. Zweytes Stiick. Braunschweig und Hildes- 
heim, 1755. 

Ebert's first edition of: Der wahre Wehrt ' des menschUchen Lebens. 
124 pp. 

Neue Erweiterungen der Erkenntnis und des Vergniigens. 
Frankfurt und Leipzig, 1755. VIII. Des Herrn von 
Bar Selbtsgesprach bey dem fruhzeitigen Tode des 
Herrn von Hagedoms, etc. ; ins Deutsche iibersetzt, 
pp. 81-86. IX. Sinngedicht auf des Herrn von Bar 
Selbstgesprach bey des Herrn von Hagedoms Tode, 
p. 86. 

* Ebert's spelling. 



141 

Verses 9-12, p. 81, show that the inspiration came from the Night 
Thoughts. There is also a long footnote on the Night Thoughts and 
their cause. The poem, on p. 86, proclaims Bar the Young of Ger- 
many's fame, and is by the translator of the above-cited verses. 

These poems are reprinted in: Auszug merkwiirdiger Sachen aus 
den Neuesten Monatsschriften der Gelehrsamkeit. Merseburg, 1755. 
(The title-page bears the date 1754.) Vol. I, pp. 161-166. 

1756. Uebersetzungen einiger Poetischen und Prosaischen 
Werke der besten Englischen Schriftsteller. Erster 
Band. Worinn D. Eduard Youngs Klagen, oder 
Nachtgedanken uber Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit, 
enthalten sind. Dritte und verbesserte Auflage. 
Braunschweig und Hildesheim, 1756. 

Contains the nine Nights, 507 pp., the third edition of Ebert's prose 
translation of 1 751-1752. The second edition appeared in 1753, the 
fourth in 1763, q.v. There is a reprint of Part II, Nights V-VII, 
bearing the date 1762. 

Der Triumph der Christen iiber die Furcht des Todes. 
Eine freye poetische Uebersetzung aus dem EngHschen 
des Herm Young. Frankfurt am Mayn, 1756. 

An anonymous translation of Night IV. into trochaic octameters, 
with rime in couplets, evidently by the translator of Night I, 1755, q.v. 
50 pp., quarto, without pagination. Reprinted as No. 3, in Drey 
Auserlesene Gedichte, 1759, 1762, q.v. 

Ruhmbegierde, die allgemeine Leidenschaft der Menschen. 
In Sieben Satiren. Von Dr. Edward Young. Aus der 
fiinften Englischen Auflage iibersetzt und in diesem 
zweyten Druck verbessert. Frankfurt und Leipzig, in 
der Knoch- und EssHngerischen Buchhandlung, 1756. 

The first edition appeared in 1755, q.v. 173 pp. 

Uebersetzungen einiger Poetischen und Prosaischen 
Werke der besten Enghschen Schriftsteller. Zweyter 
Band. Drittes Stuck. Braunschweig und Hildes- 
heim, verlegts seel. Ludolph Schroders Erben, 1756. 

This volume contains: Der nicht fabelhafte Centaur; Zwey 
Poetische Sendschreiben an Herm Pope, translated by Ebert. 336 pp. 
For the other volumes of this translation, cf. under 1751, 1752, 1753, 
1754, 1755, 1763- 



142 

D. Eduard Youngs Trauerspiele, nebst der Boadicea, 
einem Trauerspiele des Herrn R. Glovers. Aus dem 
Englischen iibersetzt. Hamburg und Leipzig, bey 
Georg Christian Grund und Adam Heinrich HoUe, 
1756. 

This anonymous translation contains: Busiris; Die Rache; Die 
Briider. 322 pp. A reprint was published in Leipzig, 1767, q.v. 
Reviews: Gelehrte Nachrichten. Rostock und Wissmar, 1757, 

PP- 135-136- 

Beytrage zur Neuesten Geschichte der Litteratur, besonders des 
1757*'^° Jahrs. Altona, 1759, pp. 149-151. Praises natural portrayal 
of character, but desires closer observance of the Unities. 

Die Briider. Ein Trauerspiel, von Dr. Eduard Young. 
Aus dem Englischen iibersetzt. Franckfurt und 
Leipzig. In der Knoch- und Esslingerischen Buch- 
handlung, 1756. 

An anonymous prose translation, of 158 pp. 

1757. Brittische Bibliothek. Erster Band. Leipzig, 1757. 

Notice and review of the first edition, in London, of the Centaur 
not Fabulous (1755), in Zweytes Stuck, pp. 167-175. A careful de- 
tailed review. The critic pronounces it too poetical for prose, too 
witty for such a serious subject, and yet, he thinks, this very wit is 
the charm of the book. 

Notice and review of: The Brothers, a Tragedy. Acted at the 
Theatre Royal in Drury-Lane. London. Printed for R. Dodsley in 
Pali-Mall, 1753. In Drittes Stiick, pp. 256-293. This reviewer calls 
the Revenge "an improved Shakspere's Othello." The theme of 
the Brothers had already been used by Corneille, says the critic, but 
Young is superior to Corneille. Dodsley's Prologue is translated 
complete, pp. 258-259. Resume of the entire play, scene for scene, 
with occasional quotations and criticisms, pp. 260-293. It is inferior 
to Busiris and the Revenge, but its bombast and other faults are the 
faults of the nation, not of Young, the reviewer concludes. 

Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen 
Kiinste. Leipzig, 1757. Vol. I, i, IV : (A review of) 
Aufmunterungen in moralischen Gedichten von Joh. 
Lorenz Withof, etc. Dortmund, 1755. 

A short comparison of Pope and Young, pp. 87, 95. 



143 

Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen 
Kiinste. Leipzig, 1757. Vol. I, ii, I: Betrachtungen 
iiber die Quellen und die Verbindungen der schonen 
Kiinste und Wissenschaften, pp. 231-268. 

A criticism of Young's tragedies, p. 260, says they read well, but 
they are not successful stage plays. 

Vier Auserlesene Meisterstiicke so vieler enghschen 
Dichter, etc. Basel, 1757. 

This volume contains Young's Last Day in hexameter translation. 
It was not to be had. 

Review: Briefe, die neueste Litteratur betreffend. 39th "Brief," 
pp. 280 ft. This review is by Lessing. Cf. the Lachmann-Muncker 
edition of his works, Vol. VIII, pp. 79 ff. 

1758. Der Nordische Aufseher, herausgegeben von Johann 
Andreas Cramer. Erster Band. Kopenhagen und 
Leipzig, 1758. 

Dreyzehntes Stiick, pp. 158-182. This is the review of the worth 
of the Night Thoughts that places Young next to David and the 
Prophets. An analysis of Night IV is given, pp. 164-181, quoting 
about 225 verses in German prose translation. 

Reviews: Briefe, die neueste Litteratur betreffend. BerHn, 1759. 
The 48th "Brief" finds the above-mentioned praise exaggerated. 
This review is by Lessing. Cf. the Lachmann-Muncker edition of his 
works, Vol. VIII, pp. 125-126. 

Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen Kiinste. 
Leipzig, 1759. Vol. V, ii, pp. 280, 281. 

Neue Probestiicke der Englischen Schaubiihne, aus der 
Ursprache iibersetzt von einem Liebhaber des guten 
Geschmacks. Basel, 1758. I, i, Rache; 3, Busiris. 

This translation was not to be had. 

Review: Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen 
Kiinste. Leipzig, 1760. Vol. VI, i, p. 73. Adverse criticism. This 
reviewer also calls the Revenge, Shakspere's Othello improved. 

Gelehrte Nachrichten auf das Jahr 1758. Rostock und 
Wissmar. 

Under the date of April 30, p. 196, Young's appointment as Bishop 
of Bristol is announced. 



144 

Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen 
Kiinste. Leipzig, 1758. 

A review, Vol. Ill, ii, pp. 341-361, of Ramler's Einleitung in die 
schonen Wissenschaften, a translation of the French of Batteux, cites 
a passage of Ebert's translation of the Night Thoughts, to illustrate 
poetical forms in harmonious, exalted prose, p. 356. 

Zum Vergniigen. Hamburg und Leipzig, 1758. Das 10. 
Stiick, pp, 73-80: Vorurtheile der Freundschaft. 

A long treatise on close and intimate friendship, resembling Young's 
thoughts on the subject in the second Night, verses 505-515, 465-479, 
of which are quoted in translation. 

Herm Abt Batteux . . . Einschrankung der Schonen 
Kiinste . . . aus dem Franzosischen iibersetzt . . von 
Johann Adolf Schlegeln. Leipzig, 1758. 

Vol. II, pp. 177-178, contains a favorable discussion of the Night 
Thoughts and of Ebert's translation. The second edition appeared 
in 1759, the third in 1770. 

1759. Drey auserlesene Gedichte. Fine freye poetische Ueber- 
setzung aus dem Englischen des Herrn Young. Frank- 
furt und Leipzig. In der Fleischerischen Buchhand- 
lung, 1759. 

Contains: (i) Klagen oder Nachtgedanken vom Leben, Tod und 
UnsterbHchkeit. Erste Nacht. 28 pp. Reprint of the 1755 transla- 
tion, which appeared in 1762 also, q.v.; (2) Klagen oder Nachtge- 
danken von Zeit, Tod und Freundschaft. Zweyte Nacht. 48 pp. ; 
(3) Der Triumph der Christen iiber die Furcht des Todes. 48 pp. 
Reprint of the 1756 translation, which appeared also in 1762, q.v. 

Review: Das Neueste aus der anmuthigen Gelehrsamkeit. 
Leipzig, 1760, pp. 71-77. Gottsched again lavishes praise upon 
the meter, and seems to have forgotten, or to have missed, the previous 
verse translations. He again speaks of the rime of the original of 
Young. At the end of the review, speaking of No. 3 above, he remem- 
bers that he reviewed it in 1757. 

Sammlung vermischter Schriften zur Beforderung der 
schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen Kiinste. Ber- 
hn, 1759. Vol. I, i, pp. 206-219: Herm Eduard 
Youngs Abhandlung iiber die lyrische Dichtkunst. 
(Aus dem Englandischen iibersetzt.) 



145 

Notice: Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen 
Kunste. Leipzig, 1760. Vol. VI, i, p. 128. 

Briefe an Freunde und Freundinnen iiber verschiedene 
kritische, freundschaftliche, und andere vermischte 
Materien. Altona, 1759. 

This is a work of J. J. Dusch, in which he objects to the unbounded 
praise that is being heaped upon Ebert as the only perfect translator 
of the age, supported by arguments and citations from the Night 
Thoughts. Vierter Brief, pp. 37-46; 39. Brief, pp. 220-227. 

1760. Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken uber 
Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit. In neun Nachten. 
Sunt lacrymae rerum, et mentem mortalia tangunt. 
viRG. Nebst Desselben sieben Characteristischen 
Satiren auf die Ruhmbegierde, die allgemeine Leiden- 
schaft. Aus dem Englischen ins Deutsche iibersetzt, 
durchgehends mit kritischen und erlautemden An- 
merkungen begleitet, und nun mit dem nach der 
letzten englischen Ausgabe abgedruckten Originale 
Herausgegeben, von J. A. Ebert, Prof. Erster Band. 
Braunschweig, bey sel. Ludolph Schroders Erben, 1760. 

This is a new translation by Ebert, completely revised and recast, 
with the original Enghsh of Young on the pages opposite. It is 
replete with notes of interpretation and collateral citations from the 
works of other authors. This volume contains Nights I-IV, 446 pp. 
A second, revised edition appeared in 1768, q.v. The other volumes 
appeared as follows: Vols. II, III, in 1763; Vol. IV, in 1769, and 
Vol. V, in 1 771, q.v. 

Reviews: Neuer Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen. Leipzig, 
1760, pp. 742-743. Special praise for the notes. 

Gottingische Anzeigen von Gelehrten Sachen. Gottingen, 1760, 
pp. 1252-1254. Praise for Young, Ebert's zeal, erudition, and notes. 

Notice: Gelehrte Beytrage zu den Braunschweigischen Anzeigen. 
Braunschweig, 1761. Vol. I, p. 119. On p. 564, under the courses 
given at the Carolineum, Ebert announces that he will read Nights 
I-rV with advanced students. Vol. II, p. 156, announces a course 
in Nights V-VI; p. 554, a course in Nights VI-VII; Vol. Ill, p. 
220, a course in Nights IV-VI. 1 762-1 763. 

D. Edouard Youngs Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken iiber 
Leben, Tod und Unsterblichkeit. Englisch und 



146 

Deutsch. Der erste Band. Hannover, bey Johann 
Wilhelm Schmidt, 1760. 

This volume contains Nights I-IV, 439 pp., in hexameter transla- 
tion, by Ch. B. Kayser. The English is printed on the pages op- 
posite. A revision and extension of the 1752 translation of Nights 
I-IV, Gottingen, q.v. As preface this also has: Einige Nachrichten 
von Doctor Young, aus einem Schreiben des Herrn von Tscharner an 
den Hofrath von Haller iibersetzet. Published with and without 
engravings. The second volume appeared in 1761, q.v. 

Reviews: Neuer Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen. Leipzig, 
1760, pp. 270-271. Very favorable. 

Gelehrte Nachrichten. Rostock und Wissmar, 1760, p. 416. Cool. 

Gottingische Anzeigen von Gelehrten Sachen. Gottingen, 1760, 
pp. 1254-1258. Considers Kayser a better student of English than 
Ebert. 

Freymiithige Briefe, etc. Hamburg und Leipzig, 1761. 37th 
"Brief." Very favorable. 

Notice: Hamburgische Nachrichten aus dem Reiche der Gelehr- 
samkeit. Hamburg, 1760, p. 547. 

Neuer Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen auf das Jahr 

MDCCLX, pp. 713-714- 

Review of Pensdes Angloises sur divers sujets de Religion, et de 
Morale. Amsterdam, 1760. A translation of selections of the best 
sentiments of the Night Thoughts, collected according to subject, by 
a translator who thinks the Night Thoughts the work of an anonymous 
poet. Unfavorable review. Cf. infra, 1761. 

Von der heiligen Poesie. 

A treatise prefixed to the 1760 Halle edition of the Messias, in 
which Klopstock pronounces the Night Thoughts the only work of 
sublime poetry that deserves to be without blemish. To be found in 
Back and Spindler's supplement to Klopstock's works. Leipzig, 
1830. Vol. IV, II, 2. 

Neuer Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen auf das Jahr 
MDCCLX, pp. 137-140. 

Under the date of Feb. 25, there is a very favorable rdsum^ and 
review of the Conjectures on Original Composition, announcing that 
a German translation is soon to appear. (Teubern's, cf. infra.) 

Gedanken uber die Original-Werke. In einem Schreiben 
des D. Youngs an den * Verfasser des Grandison. Aus 

* The title-page has " dem." 



147 

dem Englischen. Leipzig, bey Johann Samuel Heinsii 
Erben, 1760. 

Signed "v. T." The translator is Hans Erich von Teubem, who 
used the second edition. A reprint was published in 1761, q.v. Cf. 
also supra, pp. 14 ff. 

Remews: Das Neueste aus der anmuthigen Gelehrsamkeit. 
Leipzig, 1760, pp. 671-680. Gottsched accuses Young of meddling 
with a subject of which he knows nothing. Cf. supra, p. 16. 

Briefe, die neueste Litteratur betreffend. Berlin, 1763. X*'' Theil, 
I72d-i73d "Briefe," pp. 310-322, dated June 25, 1761. In these 
articles Nicolai reviews the Conjectures very favorably, with equally 
harsh words for the above-mentioned criticism of Gottsched. Cf. 
supra, p. 16. 

Freymiithige Briefe iiber die neuesten Werke aus den 
Wissenschaften in und ausser Deutschland. Zweytes 
Stiick. Hamburg und Leipzig, 1760. Achtzehnter 
Brief, pp. 168-169; Drittes Stiick, Fortsetzung des 
Achtzehnten Briefes, pp. 225-261. 

A review of the Conjectures, which objects to the style, considering 
the work as a "letter." This is followed by a translation of the 
Conjectures, according to the first edition. Signed "G.*" 

Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen 
Kiinste. Leipzig, 1760. Vol. VI, i, pp. 180-183. 

Notice and review of the Conjectures, in words of most ardent 
praise. A two-page r^sum^. Notice of the two German translations 
given above, with the remark that the work is already too well known 
in Germany to need any further comment. 

Die Deutsche Schaubiihne zu Wien, nach alten und 
neuen Mustern. Neunter Theil. Wien, 1761. 

This collection contains Ruber's translation of the Revenge: 
Vorrede, Zanga oder die Rache, p. iii; Story of the action without 
critical comment, pp. iv-vi. Zanga oder die Rache. Ein neues 
Trauerspiel in Prosa, aus dem Enghschen Des HERRN D. Eduard 
Youngs entlehnet. Von Jos. Carl Huber, Wienn, in Kraussischen 
Buchladen, etc., 1760. 92 pp. A free translation and adaptation of 
Young. Cf. supra, p. 126. 

Handlexicon oder Kurzgefasstes Worterbuch der schonen 
Wissenschaften und freyen Kunste. Zum Gebrauch 



148 

der Liebhaber derselben, herausgegeben von Johann 
Christoph Gottscheden, etc. Leipzig, 1760. 

The sketch of Young, p. 1671, mentions seven of his minor works 
with a citation from the Last Day. It mentions the tragedy Busiris, 
but not the Night Thoughts, or Satires, or other most important works. 

1 761. D. Edouard Youngs Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken iiber 
Leben, Tod und Unsterblichkeit. Englisch und 
Deutsch. Der zweyte Band. Hannover, 1761. 

This volume contains Nights VII-IX, 495 pp. The first volume 
was published in 1760, q.v. This is Kayser's hexameter translation 
continued. Cf. also 1752. 

Review: Gottingische Anzeigen von Gelehrten Sachen. Gott- 
ingen, 1761, p. 112. Very favorable. 

Moralische Gedanken iiber verschiedene Gegenstande 
der Religion, aus dem Englischen des Hrn. Young. 
Breslau und Leipzig, bey Daniel Pietsch, 1761. 

This work was not found. The reviews below, however, show the 
nature of the translation. 

Reviews : Hamburgische Nachrichten aus dem Reiche der Gelehr- 
samkeit. Hamburg, 1761, p. 725. This cites the 16 topics, under 
which the sentiments of the Night Thoughts are grouped. 

Gelehrte Nachrichten auf das Jahr 1762. Rostock und Wissmar. 
17th "Stuck," pp. 182-184. The reviewer calls these selections the 
^'kernel of the Night Thoughts." 

Auserlesene Poesien Aus den meisten und besten Eng- 
lischen Dichtern. Hierbevor der Frau Rowe Andachts- 
Uebung beygefiigt. Nun aber besonders gedruckt, 
verbessert und vermehrt. Zurich, 1761. 

This contains 11 selections from the Last Day; 17 from the Night 
Thoughts, in all 306 verses, translated into trochaic octameters with 
rime in couplets, pp. 22-49. 

Review: Neuer Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen. Leipzig, 1761, 
pp. 411-412. Unfavorable. 

Gottingische Anzeigen von Gelehrten Sachen. Gottingen, 
1761. 

Review, p. 232, of Pens^es Angloises sur divers sujets de Religion, 
et de Morale. Amsterdam, 1760. A favorable estimate of this col- 
lection of sentiments from the Night Thoughts. Cf. supra, 1760. 



149 

Gedanken iiber die Original- Werke. Etc. Zweyte Auf- 
lage. Leipzig, 1761. 

Reprint of Teubern's translation of 1760, q.v. 
Review: Gottingische Anzeigen von Gelehrten Sachen. Got- 
tingen, 1762, p. 375. Favorable for both the original and the trans- 
lation. 

Briefe, die ncueste Litteratur betreffend. Berlin, 1763. 
Xr" Theil. 

The i82d-i85th "Briefe," pp. 59-111, 1761, contain a bitter tirade 
against the excessive imitation prevalent at that time, especially against 
the hosts of ridiculous "Night Thoughts makers." A number of 
these are here reviewed very sarcastically by Nicolai. Cf. supra, 
p. 102. 

Bremisches Magazin zur Ausbreitung der Wissenschaften 
Kiinste und Tugend von einigen Liebhabem derselben 
mehrentheils aus den Englischen Monatsschriften 
gesammelt und herausgegeben. Vierter Band nebst 
Register. Bremen und Leipzig, 1761. XXXII, pp. 
442-449: Auszug aus Conjectures on Original Com- 
position. Lond. 1759.^ Gedanken iiber Original- 
Werke. (Gentl. Magaz. 1759. May, S. 230.) 

This is a translation of the complete article in Vol. XXIX of the 
Gentleman's Magazine: 21. Conjectures on original composition, 
pp. 230-232. 

1762. Uebersetzungen einiger Poetischen und Prosaischen 
Werke der besten Englischen Schriftsteller, etc. 

A reprint of Vol. I, Part II, Nights V-VII, 332 pp. Cf. 1756, 
supra. Also a reprint of Vol. II, Part I: Der Jungste Tag; Die 
Macht der Religion ; Paraphrase uber einen Theil des Buches Hiob, 
144 pp. Cf. 1754, supra. 

Drey Auserlesene Gedichte. Eine freye poetische Ueber- 
setzung aus dem Englischen des Herrn Young. Frank- 
furt und Leipzig, 1762. 

A reprint of the 1759 edition, q.v. No. 2, Night II, bears the date 
1759, in this 1762 edition. 

> The title has " 1 749 " by mistake. 



150 

Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen 
Kiinste. Leipzig, 1762. 

Vol. VIII has Young's portrait as frontispiece. Notice, on p. 352, 
of Young's Works in 4 volumes, revised by himself. London, 1762. 

1763. Uebersetzungen einiger Poetischen und Prosaischen 
Werke der besten Englischen Schriftsteller. Etc. 
Vierte und verbesserte Auflage. Braunschweig und 
Hildesheim, 1763. 

The fourth, revised edition of Night Thoughts I-IX, by Ebert, 
507 pp. The text follows the new, annotated edition of 1760, as far 
as it had appeared, q.v. The first edition appeared in 1751-1752, the 
second in 1753, and the third in 1756, q.v. 

Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken iiber 
Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit ... J. A. Ebert, 
Prof. Zweyter Band. Braunschweig, 1763. 

For full title, cf. supra, 1760. This volume contains Nights V-VI, 
377 pp. The third volume also appeared this year, with Nights VII- 
VIII, 547 pp. The first volume was published in 1760, the fourth in 
1769, and the fifth in 1771, q.v. The second, revised edition of 
Vols. I-III, appeared in 1768, 1769, 1774, respectively, q.v. The 
numerous reprints are given under their respective dates. 

Reviews: Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen 
Kiinste, Leipzig, 1763. Vol. IX, ii, pp. 270-272. Favorable, but 
with doubtful commendation of the lengthy notes. Review of Vol. II. 

Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek. Berlin und Stettin, 1766. Vol. 
Ill, i, pp. 197-203. Review of Vol. III. Favorable, with both praise 
and blame for the copious notes. 

Resignation in Two Parts and a Postscript. To Mrs. 
B***** Die Verlaugnung in Zwey Theilen nebst 
einer Nachschrift, an Mad. B*****von D. Eduard 
Young. . . . Ahona, 1763. 

A prose translation, with the English original on the pages opposite. 
The work of J. J. Dusch. 175 pp. 

Reviews: Hamburgische Nachrichten. Hamburg, 1763, pp. 
210-211. 

Altonaischer Gelehrter Mercurius. Altona, 1763, p. 104. Ardent 
praise. 

Ausfiihrliche und kritische Nachrichten von den besten und merk- 
wiirdigsten Schriften, etc. Lindau und Leipzig, 1764, p. 332. Harsh 
criticism. 



151 

Die Gelassenheit im Leiden. An die Frau B******* 
. . . Ein Gedicht, von Dr. Eduard Young. Aus dem 
Englischen iibersetzt von J. A. Ebert, Prof. Braun- 
schweig, im Verlag der Fiirstl. Waysenhausbuch- 
handlung, 1763. 

A prose translation, 86 pp. The second edition appeared in 1766, 
the third in 1776, q.v. 

Reviews: Gelehrte Beytrage zu den Braunschweigischen Anzeigen. 
Braunschweig, 1763, pp. 305-328. Favorable. Numerous passages 
are quoted. 

Altonaischer Gelehrter Mercurius. Altona, 1763, p. 253. 

Ausfiihrliche und kritische Nachrichten von den besten und merk- 
wurdigsten Schriften, etc. Lindau und Leipzig, 1764, pp. 324-332. 
Favorable. Numerous passages are also quoted here. 

Sammlung vermischter Schriften zur Beforderung der 
schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen Kunste. 
Berlin, 1763. Vol. VI, Stuck I. 

The preface to the translation: Versuch iiber Popens Genie und 
Schriften, pp. 1-7, contains Warton's tribute to Young's character 
and works. 

Brittische Bibliothek. Sechster Band. Leipzig, 1763. 

In a list of books sold by C. Fritsch, in Leipzig, six editions of works 
of Young are enumerated. 

1764. Trauerspiele aus dem Englischen iibersetzt durch Johann 
Heinrich Schlegel, Professor bey der Universitat zu 
Kopenhagen und Secretar in der Koniglich-Danischen 
Kanzley. Kopenhagen und Leipzig, verlegts Fried- 
rich Christian Pelt, 1764. Pp. 211-332: Die Briider, 
ein Trauerspiel, des Herrn Eduard Young; pp. 333- 
336: Historische Nachrichten. 

A good translation in the meter of the original, i.e. blank verse. 
The historical sketch points out the use that Young made of Roman 
history as found in Livy. The pertinent passages of Livy are cited. 

Reviews: Neuer Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen. Leipzig, 
1764, pp. 433-434- Favorable. 

Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen KUnste. 
Vol. XII, i, pp. 76-79. Favorable. 



152 

Briefe, die neueste Litteratur betreffend. XVIII*" 
Theil. Berlin, 1764. 

The 283d-284th "Briefe," pp. 1 19-180, discuss the use of hexameter 
verse in German poetry, comparing Kayser's hexameter translation 
of the Night Thoughts with Ebert's prose translation as representative 
of Young, to show the reasons why the Night Thoughts should not be 
translated into hexameters, and why the German language is not 
adapted to that form of verse. The articles are by Resewitz, and cite 
many passages from both translations, also some verses from an un- 
published hexameter translation by his friend "D." (Mendelssohn?) 

1765. Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken iiber 
Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit. ... J. A. Ebert, 
Prof. . . . Schaffhausen, verlegts Benedict Hurter, 
Provisor, 1765. 

Vol. I, Nights I-IV, 350 pp. ; Vol. II, Nights V-VI, 260 pp. A 
reprint of the 1760 edition, German text only, with abridged notes. 
Vol. I was reprinted in Schaffhausen, in 1776; Vol. II, in 1777, q.v. 

Der Freymiithige, oder Der Englische Greis, von Young. 
Hamburg, 1 765-1 767. 

An adaptation of the Night Thoughts, in six parts, " ist-ajd Stiick," 
402 pp. 

Briefe zur Bildung des Geschmacks An einen jungen 
Herrn von Stande. Zv^^eyter Theil. Leipzig und 
Breslau, 1765. XVIII Brief, pp. 337-364: Young's 
Nachtgedanken. 

This is a work of J. J. Dusch and contains ardent admiration of 
the Night Thoughts. He chooses Nights VI-VII as best suited to 
his discussion. Innumerable passages are cited as translated by 
Ebert and Kayser. 

Reviews: Konigsbergische Gelehrte und Politische Zeitungen auf 
das Jahr 1766. Calls them harmless contributions. 

Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek, 1768. Vol. VII, ii, pp. 142-159. 
Objects to Dusch's characterization of the Night Thoughts, which 
says that the poem goes directly to the point in its arguments, without 
digression, episode, or exotic elaboration. Both of these reviews are 
by Herder. Cf. Sammtliche Werke, edited by Suphan. Vol. I, 
pp. 115-118; Vol. IV, pp. 290-291. 

Belustigungen fur das Herz und den Geschmack in 



153 

auserlesenen Schilderungen von Young, etc., etc. 
Frankfurt, 1765. 

Review: Konigsbergische Gelehrte und Politische Zeitungen, 1765, 
by Herder. This work is a prose medley and conglomeration of 
mediocre poetry from Gellert, Kleist, Lange, Dusch, etc., which 
Herder considers unworthy of print. Cf. Herders Sammtliche Werke, 
edited by Suphan. Vol. I, p. loi. 

This was not to be had. 

Der Gliickselige, eine moralische Wochenschrift. Halle, 
1765. Sechster Theil. Das 222. Stuck, pp. 201-203. 

An essay: Ueber den Trieb zum Leben und zur Freyheit, p. 201, 
cites in free translation numerous thoughts from the Night Thoughts 
on the desire to live and the reluctance to meet death. 

Schreiben iiber die Frage : ob das Lesen der Alten an dem 
Mangel der Original-Scribenten Schuld sey, abgefasst 
von Job. Jac. Rambach, Rektor des Quedlinburgschen 
Gymnasii, 1765. 

A long discussion which takes up Young's arguments in his Con- 
jectures and attempts to refute them. Reprinted in 1771, q.v. 

Review: Konigsbergische Gelehrte und Politische Zeitungen. 
loth "Stuck." February, 1766. Cf. Herders Sammtliche Werke, 
edited by Suphan. Vol. I, pp. 121-123. 

Gottingische Anzeigen von Gelehrten Sachen. 49. 

Stiick. Den 25. April, 1765, p. 400. 
Altonaischer Gelehrter Mercurius auf das Jahr 1765. 

22. Stiick. Den 30. May, 1765, p. 192. 

Notices of the death of Young. 

1766. Die Gelassenheit im Leiden. An die Frau B******* 
Ein Gedicht, von Dr. Eduard Young. Aus dem 
Englischen ubersetzt von J. A. Ebert, Prof. . . . 
Zweyte verbesserte Auflage. Braunschweig, 1766. 

The first edition appeared in 1763, the third in 1776, q.v. 

Briefe iiber Merkwurdigkeiten der Litteratur. Erste und 
Zweyte Sammlung. Schleswig und Leipzig, 1766. 

A series of reviews by Heinrich Wilhelm von Gerstenberg. A close 
comparison of Young's Revenge with Shakspere's Othello, pp. 114- 
125. A discussion of the Danish poet TuUin contains frequent com- 



154 

parisons with the Night Thoughts, pp. 171,172, 173, 175. Cf. also 
Dritte Sammlung, 1767, p. 277. Reprint in Deutsche Litteratur- 
denkmale des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts. A. v. Weilen. Vols. 
XXIX-XXX, 1888-1890. 

1767. Einige Werke von Dr. Eduard Young. Aus dem Eng- 
lischen ins Deutsche iibersetzt, und nun nach der 
letzten Ausgabe des sel. Verfassers verbessert von 
J. A. Ebert, Prof. Erster Theil, Braunschweig und 
Hildesheim, bey sel. Lud.* Schroders Erben, 1767. 

This new edition is almost identical with the 1760 annotated edition, 
as far as the latter had appeared, Nights I-VIII, but without notes 
and English original. Part I contains Nights I-IX, 383 pp. Part II 
contains: Der Jiingste Tag; Die Macht der Religion; Paraphrase 
uber einen Theil des Buchs Hiob; Der wahre Werth des menschlichen 
Lebens; Der nicht fabelhafte Centaur; Zwey poetische Sendschreiben 
an Herm Pope, 488 pp. A second, revised edition appeared in 1777, 
q.v. The third part appeared in 1772, q.v. 

Review: Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek, 1769. Vol. IX, ii, 
P- 237- 

D. Eduard Youngs Trauerspiele, nebst der Boadicea, 
einem Trauerspiele des Herm R. Glovers. Aus dem 
Englischen iibersetzt. Neue Auflage. Leipzig, bey 
Adam Heinrich Hollens Witvi^e, 1767. 

Contains: Busiris; Die Rache; Die Briider, pp. 1-322. German 
prose translation. Reprint of the 1756 edition, q.v. 

Review: Theorie der Poesie . . . M. Ch. H. Schmid. Theil II, 
p. 46. Leipzig, 1768. 

Theorie der Poesie nach den neuesten Grundsatzen und 
Nachricht von den besten Dichtern nach den angenom- 
menen Urtheilen von M. Christian Heinrich Schmid. 
Leipzig, 1767. 

Part I contains many reviews of Young's works: Conjectures, p. 
41; Notice of his death, p. 60; Night Thoughts, p. 185; Satires, 
p. 239; Lyrics, p. 316; Tragedies, p. 476. 

Review: Deutsche Bibliothek. Klotz. Halle. Zweyter Band. 
Achtes Stuck. Not in sympathy with Schmid's praise of Young; 
very harsh criticism of the damage that Young's influence was doing 
in Germany. 

* The title-page has "Ludw" by mistake: the name is Ludolph. 



155 

AUgemeine deutsche Bibliothek, 1767, Vol. V, i; I, 
pp. 2-8, 

A review of J. J. Dusch's Poetical Works points out the influence 
of Nights VI-VII on Dusch's fifth book on the immortality of the 
soul, p. 8. 

Altonaischer Gelehrter Mercurius auf das Jahr 1767. 13. 
Stuck, pp. 102-103. 

A short discussion of Young's Conjectures, and an advance notice 
of J. G. Meusel's De Veterum Poetaruin Interpretatione, a work said 
to be directed against Young's views. A short sketch of Young's life 
is given, 21st "Stiick," p. 168. 

Der Weise, eine moralische Wochenschrift. Erster Theil. 
Halle, 1767. 

The articles: Betrachtungen am Geburtstage; Die Vermischung 
des Vergniigens und Missvergniigens, pp. 117, 119-120, 125, 160, 168, 
cite passages from the Night Thoughts. 

Neue Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der 
freyen Kiinste. Berlin und Stettin, 1767. 

Vol. Ill, ii, pp. 330-341, contains a sketch of Young's life and 
works, — a glowing tribute and eulogy ; Comparison of the Revenge 
and Othello; Discussion of Busiris and the Brothers; Estimate of 
the Night Thoughts. 

Review of the above-cited sketch, in: Gottingische Anzeigen von 
Gelehrten Sachen. Gottingen, 1767, p. 278. 

1768. Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken iiber 
Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit. ... J. A. Ebert, 
Prof. Erster Band. Zweyte verbesserte Auflage. 
Braunschweig, bey sel. Ludolph Schroders Erben, 
1768. 

The second, revised edition of the annotated edition of 1760, q.v. 
for full title, etc. 423 pp. 

Reviews: x^lmanach der deutschen Musen. Leipzig, 1771, p. 140. 
AUgemeine deutsche Bibliothek, 1771, p. 228. 

Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken iiber 
Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit. ... J. A. Ebert, 
Prof. . . . Dritter Band. Schaffhausen, 1768. 

This volume contains Nights VII-VIII, 397 pp., and is a reprint of 



156 

the edition of 1763, with abridged notes, German text only. It was 
reprinted in 1777. 

Die Briider: ein Trauerspiel, aus dem Englischen 
iibersetzt. Frankfurt und Leipzig, 1768. 

This was located in Vienna, but was not obtainable at the time. It 
is most likely a reprint of the edition of 1756, q.v. 

Deutsche Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften heraus- 
gegeben vom Herrn Geheimdenrath Klotz. Erster 
Band. Drittes Stuck. Halle, 1768. 

A review of: Vergleichung des Zustandes und der Krafte des 
Menschen, etc., translated from the English, has an unfavorable 
opinion of the Night Thoughts, pp. 181-182. In Vol. II, p. 8, Klotz 
corroborates Gleim's opinion, that Young is not a savior of man. 

1769. Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken iiber 
Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit. ... J. A. Ebert, 
Prof. Vierter Band. Braunschweig, bey sel. Ludolph 
Schroders Erben, 1769. 

This volume contains Night IX, with appendixes, 336 pp. Of this 
annotated edition, with the English original on the pages opposite. 
Vol. I appeared in 1760; Vols. II-III, in 1763; Vol. V, in 1771, q.v. 

Reviews: Deutsche Bibliothek. Klotz. Halle. Vol. Ill, pp. 
636-644. Very sarcastic and caustic. Calls Young the king of 
poetic night owls (Uhus). 

Almanach der deutschen Musen. Leipzig, 1770, p. 123. 

Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek, 1771. Vol. XV, i, pp. 227-228. 

Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken iiber 
Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit. ... J. A. Ebert, 
Prof. Zweyter Band. Zweyte verbesserte Auflage. 
Braunschweig, 1769. 

This volume contains Nights V-VII, 357 pp. Annotated, with the 
English original on the pages opposite. The first edition appeared 
in 1763, q.v. for full title, etc. 

Review: Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek, 1771. Vol. XV, i, p. 
228. 

Gottingische Anzeigen von Gelehrten Sachen. Got- 
tingen, 1769, p. 934. 

Notice of Ebert as the excellent translator of the Night Thoughts, 
in recommending another translation by him. 



157 

Persius und Demetrius oder die feindlichen Briider. Ein 
Trauerspiel in Versen und fiinf Aufziigen aus dem 
Englischen des Hrn. Doctor Young ubersetzt. Prag, 
1769. 

An anonymous translation in Alexandrines. 107 pp. Monoto- 
nous. 

Neuer Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen auf das Jahr 
MDCCLXIX. Leipzig. 

A review of Le Toumeur's translation and adaptation of the Night 
Thoughts (1769), pp. 721-723. Ardent praise for this remodelling 
of Young. The work contains parts of six other works of Young. 

Altonaischer Gelehrter Mercurius auf das Jahr 1769. 

Notice of the above-cited translation by Le Tourneur, p. 408. 

Neue Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der 
freyen Kiinste. Berlin und Stettin, 1769. 

Also a review of the above-mentioned translation: Les Nuites de 
Young. The reviewer prefers Ebert's translations. Vol. IX, i, 
p. 177. 

Gottingische Anzeigen von Gelehrten Sachen. Gottingen, 
1769. 

A favorable notice of the translation of Night I, by Conte de Bissy, 
Paris, p. 1403. 

M. Ch. Hein. Schmids Zusazze zur Theorie der Poesie 
und Nachrichten von den besten Dichtern. Dritte 
Sammlung. Leipzig, 1769. 

In a review of: A Comparative View of the State and Faculties of 
Man with those of the Animal World, Schmid objects to the opinion 
that Young's Night Thoughts must be distasteful to a person of 
refined taste, pp. 4-6. 

1770. Der Nordische Aufseher herausgegeben von Johann 
Andreas Cramer. Dritter und letzter Band. Leipzig, 
1770. 159. Stiick, pp. 328-339. 

A review and resimie of the Conjectures on Original Composition. 
A close, running translation, without verbatim quotations. 

Unterhaltungen. Hamburg, 1770. Vol. X, p. 539. 



158 

Notice and review of the publication by Swan of: The Merchant a 
Naval Lyric : Written in Imitation of Pindar's Spirit. On the British 
Trade and Navigation, by E. Young, LL.D. 4°. The reviewer says 
that, if this is really a poem by Young, it should not have been printed. 
It is a mediocre attempt, and Young had no talent for the lyric, he 
concludes. 

1 77 1. Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken iiber 
Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit. ... J. A. Ebert. 
Prof, am Coll. Carol, in Braunschweig. Fiinfter 
Band. Braunschweig, 1771. 

This volume contains Ebert's first translation of the Satires, anno- 
tated, and with the original on the pages opposite, 434 pp. The first 
volume of this edition appeared in 1760, Vols. II-III in 1763, Vol. IV 
in 1769, q.v. for full title, reprints, etc. 

Reviews: Almanach der deutschen Musen. Leipzig, 1772, p. 
148. Says Ebert has now rescued this work from the disgrace of the 
previous miserable translations. 

Neuer Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen. Leipzig, 1772, pp. 226- 
228. Favorable opinion of both the translation and the commentaries. 

Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek, 1774. Vol. XXI, ii, pp. 543-544. 
Praise for the translation, but wishes the notes condensed. 

Ueber den Werth einiger Deutscher Dichter und iiber 
andere Gegenstande den Geschmack und die schone 
Litteratur betreffend. Ein Briefwechsel. Erstes 
Stuck. Frankfurt und Leipzig, 1771. (Mauvillon 
und Unzer.) 

An essay on Gellert's taste and influence, pp. 301-312, that attributes 
to the popularity of Gellert the widespread influence of the "whining 
Night Thoughts," upon which Ebert had, according to the opinion 
of the critics, thrown away so much talent and zeal. 

Almanach der deutschen Musen. Leipzig, 1771, p. 149. 

A review of: Theater der Britten, Part XII, Berlin, bey Himburg, 
gives notice of a reprint, as No. 2, of Die Rache von Young. The 
reviewer censures the editor, Schmid, for reprinting such miserable 
translations. This edition was not to be had, but is probably a reprint 
of the 1756, 1767, or 1758 edition, q.v. 

Johann Jacob Rambachs . . . vermischte Abhandlungen 
aus der Geschichte und Litteratur. Halle, 1771 : 
Untersuchung der Frage : ob das Lesen der Alten an 
dem Mangel der Originalscribenten sey? Pp. 56-101. 



159 

This article appeared as a " Schulprogramm " in 1765, q.v. Re- 
viewed by Herder. 

Gottingische Anzeigen von Gelehrten Sachen. Gottingen, 
1771, p. 71. 

Notice and review of: Veritas Philosophiques tiroes de Nuits de 
Young et mises en vers libres. Moissy. Paris. Harsh criticism. 

Gottingische Anzeigen von Gelehrten Sachen. Gottingen, 

1771, pp. 742-744- 

Notice and review of: Oeuvres diverses de Mr. Young. Paris. 
4 vols. These volumes contain: Night Thoughts, Conjectures, 
Tragedies, and minor works. 

Neue BibHothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der 
freyen Kiinste. Leipzig, 1771. Vol. XII, i, p. 156. 

Notice and review of: Seconde Nuit de Young, traduite en vers 
frangois, par Mr. CoUardeau. Paris, 1771. This promises the first 
six Nights in the same style of imitation. 

1772. Einige Werke von Dr. Eduard Young. Aus dem Eng- 
lischen ins Deutsche ubersetzt, . . . von J. A. Ebert, 
Prof, am Coll. Carol, in Braunschweig. Dritter 
Theil. Braunschweig und Hildesheim, 1772. 

This volume contains the Satires, without notes and without the 
original, 136 pp. The te.xt follows the first, annotated edition of 
1771. Parts I-II appeared in 1767, revised in 1777, q.v. for full 
title, etc. 

AUgemeine deutsche Bibliothek. Berlin und Stettin, 

1772. Vol. XVI, i, pp. 127-142. 

In a review of Creuz's odes and other works. Herder discusses the 
melancholy poets of the day, and places Young in the first rank. Cf. 
Herders Sammtliche Werke, edited by Suphan. Vol. V, pp. 290-291. 

Ueber den Werth einiger Deutscher Dichter . . . etc. 
Ein Briefwechsel. Zweytes Stiick. Frankfurt und 
Leipzig, 1772. (Mauvillon und Unzer.) 

A continuation, pp. 1-7, 152-153, of the article begun in the "Erstes 
Stiick," in 1771, q.v. The writer wonders that Young was so much 
admired in Germany, whereas, in England, the Night Thoughts had 
waned in popularity at once. 



160 

Frankfurter Gelehrte Anzeigen vom Jahr 1772. 

Contains many antipathetic discussions and notices of Young: 
Vol. VII, pp. 17-18, 52, 335; Vol. VIII, p. 519. On pp. 177-178 there 
is an unfavorable review of a French translation of Nights IV, XII, 
and XV,' by Mr. Doigni du Ponceau, in Amsterdam, 1771. Reprint 
in Deutsche Litteraturdenkmale des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts, 
Vols. VII-VIII, 1882-1883. 

AUgemeine deutsche Bibliothek. Berlin und Stettin, 
1772. Vol. XVII, i, p. 40. 

A review of: Stockhausens kritischer Entwurf einer auserlesenen 
Bibliothek, etc., corrects the statement that Kayser's translation is 
incomplete. Cf. 1760, 1761. 

1773. Beylage zun Denkwiirdigkeiten des seligen Sokrates, etc. 

Zweite Auflage. Halle, 1773. 

This contains verses 781-787 of the Christian Triumph, Night IV. 
Cf. Hamann's Schriften, edited by Roth. Vol. IV, p. 114. 

Der Teutsche Merkur. Weimar, 1773. 

Contains, Vol. II, "Stiick" 2, pp. 87-92, a profuse letter from Ebert, 
begging space to publish some errors that occurred in his translation 
of the Satires. 

1774, Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken iiber 

Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit. ... J. A. Ebert, 
Prof. Dritter Band. Zweyte verbesserte Auflage. 
Braunschweig, 1774. 

This volume contains Nights VII-VIII, 534 pp., annotated, with 
the original on the pages opposite. The first edition appeared in 1 763, 
q.v. Cf. Vol. I, 1760, for full title, etc. 

Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken, 
etc. ... J. A. Ebert, Prof. Vierter Band. Schaff- 
hausen, 1774. 

This volume contains Night IX, German text, with abridged notes, 
a reprint of the 1769 annotated edition, 244 pp., and the Satires, with- 
out notes, 107 pp. Reprinted in Schaffhausen, in 1777. 

Neuer Gelehrter Mercurius. Altona, 1774. 

' This translation, like nearly all the French renditions, follows Le Tourneur's 
division of the nine Nights into twenty-four. 



161 

This published, Nov. 3, as "Stiick" 44: Eine Elegie von Herm 

Doct. Gothe, a poem of 60 verses by an unknown author, who made 

free use of Nights III and IX. Reprinted in Schnorr's Archiv. 
Vol. XIV, pp. 185-188. Cf. injra, 1886, 1896. 

1775. Epistel an die deutschen Dichter. . . . Leipzig, 1775. 

(Johann Karl Wetzel.) : Die unvermuthete Nach- 
barschaft. Ein Gesprach, pp. 25-48. 

An imaginary conversation between Sterne and Young, charac- 
terizing these writers. 

Litteratur der Poesie von Christian Heinrich Schmid. 
. . . ErsterTheil. Leipzig, 1775 : Ueber das Genie, 
p. 92. 

Characterization of the Conjectures. 

1776. Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken iiber 

Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit. ... J. A. Ebert, 
Prof. Erster Band. Schaffhausen, 1776. 

Reprint of the 1765 edition, q.v. Nights I-IV, 350 pp. 

Die Gelassenheit im Leiden. An die Frau B******* 
. . . Ein Gedicht, von Dr. Eduard Young. Aus dem 
Englischen iibersetzt von J. A. Ebert, Prof. . . . 
Dritte verbesserte Auflage. Braunschweig, 1776. 

The first edition appeared in 1763, the second in 1766, q.v. 

Reviews: AUgemeines Verzeichnis neuer Bucher mit kurzen 
Anmerkungen. Nebst einem gelehrten Anzeiger. Auf das Jahr 
1776. No. 1296, p. 607. 

AUgemeine deutsche Bibliothek, 1777. Vol. XXXII, ii, p. 464. 
Favorable. 

Neue Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der 
freyen Kiinste. Leipzig, 1776. 

A review. Vol. XIX, ii, p. 346, of: Observations on the Night 
Thoughts of Young ; with occasional Remarks on the Beauties of 
Poetical Composition. By Courtney Melmoth. The reviewer thinks 
Melmoth is too severe in his criticism of Young at times. 

1777. Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken iiber 

Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit. ... J. A. Ebert, 
Prof. . . . SchaflFhausen, 1777. 



162 

Reprintsof Vols. II-IV, which had appeared in 1765, 1768, and 1774, 
respectively, containing Nights V-IX and the Satires. This edition 
of the Satires was also published separately with a new title-page. 

Einige Werke von Dr. Eduard Young. ... J. A. 
Ebert, Prof. . . . Nach der letzten Edition sehr 
veranderten und verbesserten Auflage. Braunschweig 
und Hildesheim, 1777. 

Parts I-II, 364 pp., comprise the nine Nights and other works of 
Young. This is a revised edition of the 1767 edition, q.v. for con- 
tents, etc. 

The Complaint: or, Night Thoughts on Life, Death, 
and ImmortaHty. To which is added a Paraphrase on 
Part of the Book of Job. A new Edition. Sunt lacrymae 
rerum, & mentem mortalia tangunt. virg. Hamburg: 
Printed for C. E. Bohn. M.DCC.LXXVII. (287 pp.) 

Review: Allgemeines Verzeichnis neuer Biicher, etc. 1779. 
No. 252, p. 131. 

1778. Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken uber 
Leben, Tod, und UnsterbHchkeit. ... J. A. Ebert, 
Prof. Funfter Band. Schaffhausen, 1778. 

This volume contains the Satires and is almost identical with the 
edition of 1771, except that the English original is not printed on the 
pages opposite. It contains 472 pp., and was issued as the fifth volume 
of the Schaffhausen edition of 1765, 1768, and 1774, reprinted in 
1 776-1 777, notwithstanding the fact that the fourth volume of this 
edition already included the Satires. Cf. under these dates. 

Basedowische Chrestomathie von Youngs Lehren der 
naturhchen Religion und Tugend aus Seinen Nacht- 
gedanken, bestimmt zur Bibliothek der Rechtschaffnen 
und zum Vorlesen in philanthropischen Schulen aller 
bcsondern Religionen. 1778. In der philanthropischen 
Buchhandlung bey S. L. Crusius in Leipzig, und 
Steinacker in Dessau. 

A chrestomathy of 148 pp., consisting of selections from Ebert's 
first translation, comprising all the passages that have an especial 
moral value, arranged under their respective Nights and amalgamated 
into a new whole. This retains about a third of the original, omitting 
all that owes its existence to the exigencies of Young's life and genius, 



163 

and special English conditions, as the preface, pp. iv-v, informs the 
reader. 

Brittisches Museum f iir die Deutschen. Zwey ten Bandes, 
Erstes Stiick. Leipzig, 1778. 

Contains, pp. 228-229, verses 470-527, in English, of: An Epistle 
to the Right Hon. George Lord Lansdowne, 1712. 

Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen, oder Nachtgedanken iiber 
Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit. ... J. A. Ebert, 
Prof. . . . Braunschweig und Hildesheim, 1778. 

This is a reprint of the three parts of the 1 767-1 772, 1 777-1 772 
editions, q.v. It was not found, and the only evidence of its existence 
discovered is the: 

Review: Almanach der deutschen Musen. Leipzig, 1779, p. 160. 
It may be a misprint for 1777. 

1779. Gottingische Anzeigen von gelehrten Sachen. Gottingen, 

1779, p. 296. 
Gotaische gelehrte Zeitungen auf das Jahr 1779, p. 64. 
Brittisches Museum fur die Deutschen. 1779. Vol. IV. 

Notice of the sixth volume of the works of the Author of the Night 
Thoughts, containing short, miscellaneous verse and prose, already 
printed but not heretofore incorporated in his collected works. Lon- 
don, 1778. 

Betrachtungen iiber die Englischen Dichter. Berlin, 
1779. 

This article on Young, pp. 55-64, abounds in unlimited praise of 
all his works. The writer admits that Young's Night Thoughts 
called into existence a host of weak, mediocre imitations, but, he claims, 
the Night Thoughts are themselves the sublimest of poetry. He passes 
over all the other works and cites numerous passages from the Satires 
in prose translation to illustrate Young's excellent qualities. 

1780. Sammlung von Religions- und Sittenschriften. Erster 

Band. Dr. Eduard Youngs sammtliche Werke. . . . 
Speier, im Verlage der Gesellschaft, und zu haben bei 
den Eichenbergischen Erben zu Frankfurt am Mayn, 
1780. 

Vol. I contains Nights I-VIII, 384 pp. ; Vol. II contains : Night 
IX, 122 pp., Der Jiingste Tag, Die Macht der Religion, Paraphrase 
iiber einen Theil des Buchs Hiob, Der wahre Werth des menschhchen 



164 

Lebens, pp. 123-412; Vol. Ill contains: Der nicht fabelhafte Centaur, 
Zwey Poetische Sendschreiben an Herm Pope, 362 pp. This is a 
reprint of : Einige Werke von Dr. Eduard Young. ... J. A. Ebert, 
Prof. . . . Braunschweig und Hildesheim, 1777, Parts I-II, German 
text only, without notes. The first edition appeared in 1767. Part 
III, containing the Satires, has been omitted, as being unsuitable for 
a collection of religious writings. Cf. preface to Vol. III. However, 
an edition was published later, a reprint of the three volumes men- 
tioned above, with the addition of a fourth volume, Frankfurt am 
Main, zuhaben bei den Eichenbergischen Erben, 1782. The preface 
claims that satire and religion are perfectly compatible, and, further, 
that Young's Resignation is worthy of a place alongside the Night 
Thoughts ; therefore this editor published the Satires and Die Gelas- 
senheit im Leiden, 218 pp. A reprint of the first three volumes 
appeared, Frankfurt und Leipzig, in 1805, q.v. 

Dr. Eduard Youngs samtliche Werke. Neue verbes- 
serte, mit dem Leben des Verfassers vermehrte 
Auflage. Erster Band. . . . Mannheim, 1780. 

This translation is the first by Professor Eckert of Mannheim. The 
claim that it is a new, revised edition, is somewhat peculiar, since it 
presumes to correct Ebert's translations, not Eckert's own. The 
preface adds a few irrelevant, incorrect data on Young, and declares 
the translator's willingness to publish with the second volume a list 
of his corrections, if Ebert or any one else should desire. The 
desire was evidently not expressed ; for the second volume appeared 
without the list. The revision consists in a mere substitution of unim- 
portant words. Vol. I contains the first seven Nights, 365 pp. Re- 
printed in 1784. Vol. II contains Nights VII-IX and the Satires, 
398 pp. Reprinted in 1784. Vol. Ill contains: Der Jungste Tag, 
Die Macht der Religion, Paraphrase iiber einen Theil des Buchs Hiob, 
Zwey Poetische Sendschreiben an Herm Pope, Der nicht fabelhafte 
Centaur (the first three letters), 390 pp. Likewise reprinted in 1784. 
The fourth volume does not seem to have appeared until 1784, with 
the reprint of the three volumes discussed above. Cf. under 1784, 
injra. 

This translation is so nearly an absolute copy of Ebert's, that one 
edition even printed, as Vol. IV, Ebert's translation of Letters 4-6 of 
the Centaur, to complete the third volume above. This fourth 
volume also contains Ebert's translation of: Der wahre Werth des 
menschlichen Lebens, and Zwey Poetische Sendschreiben an Herm 
Pope, altho this last work had already been included in Vol. III. 

Briefe das Studium der Theologie betreffend von J. G. 
Herder. Zweyter Theil. Weimar, 1780. 



165 

Night II, verses 469-471, 474-479, 485-487, are used in the original. 
This was reprinted in the second, revised edition of 1785. To be 
found in Herders Sammthche Werke, edited by Suphan, Vol. X, 
pp. 248-249. Cf. also Neue Deutsche Monatsschrift, 1795, infra. 

Deutsches Museum. Leipzig, 1780: Schreiben an 
Herrn Professor Eschenburg, pp. 406-407. 

A short discussion by Ebert of the Epistle to the Right Hon. George 
Lord Lansdowne (1712). 

Klopstock. Er und iiber ihn von C. F. Cramer. Ham- 
burg, 1 780-1 793. Theil IV, p. 175. 

The commentary to the Messias, Canto VI, verses 454-469, char- 
acterizes correctly Young's influence upon his time. 

Charaktere teutscher Dichter und Prosaisten. Von 
Kaiser Karl dem Grossen, bis aufs Jahr 1780. Erster 
Band. Berlin, 1781. 

A character sketch of Ebert, pp. 339-342, dwelling especially upon 
him as the great, gifted translator of Young. 

1781. D. Christian Heinrich Schmids Professors zu Giessen 

Anv^eisung der vomehmsten Bucher in alien Theilen 
der Dichtkunst. Leipzig, 1781. 

This contains biographical and bibliographical notices of Young, 
characterizations and criticisms of his works and of translations ia 
various languages. It contains many incorrect dates. 

1782. Dr. Eduard Youngs sammtliche Werke. Vierter Band. 

. . . Frankfurt am Main, zu haben bei den Eichen- 
bergischen Erben, 1782. 

This is a supplementary volume to the three-volume edition of 1780, 
printed in Speier. It contains, in Ebert's translation, the Satires and 
Resignation, 218 pp. Cf. supra, 1780. 

1783. Choice of the best poetical pieces of the most eminent 

English Poets. Published by Joseph Retzer. Vol. I. 
Vienna. Printed for Sonnleithner and Hoerling. 
MDCCLXXXIII: A Sea-Piece: containing: I. The 
British Sailor's Exultation. II. His Prayer before 
Engagement, pp. 197-207. Edward Young. 



166 

1784. Des Dr. Edouard Youngs Werke. Verbesserte und erste 

vollstandige deutsche Auflage. Erster Band. . . . 
Mannheim, 1784. Im Verlage der Herausgeber der 
Werke auslandischer schoner Geister. 

This is Eckert's translation. Vols. I-III appeared in 1780, q.v. 
Vol. Ill was also reprinted in 1792. Vol. IV, bearing upon its title- 
page "Erste deutsche Auflage," as does Vol. V, shows that the first 
edition appeared only as far as Vol. III. Vol. IV contains: The 
Centaur (conclusion), Der wahre Werth des menschUchen Lebens, 
Zwei Gedichte zum Ruhme Dr. Eduard Youngs, 359 pp. Vol. V 
contains: Busiris, Die Rache, Ein Seestuck, 270 + 16 pp. Cf. the 
discussion of the 1 780 edition, supra. The translations of the tragedies 
are superior to those published anonymously earlier. The Night 
Thoughts of this edition were published in 1802, q.v. 

1785. Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der freyen 

Kunste. Vol. XXX, ii, p. 295. 

The conclusion of the translation of Warton's Essay on the 
Genius and Writings of Pope contains a characterization of Young 
as a satirist. 

Briefe das Studium der Theologie betreffend von J. G. 
Herder. Zweyter Theil. Weimar, 1785. 

The second edition. Contains Night II, verses 469-471, 474-479, 
485-487, in the original. Cf . first edition, 1 780 ; also Neue Deutsche 
Monatsschrift, 1795, injra. 

1787. Moralische Betrachtungen uber den Werth des Lebens. 
Aus dem Franzosischen iibersezt. Frankfurt und 
Leipzig, bey Tobias Gobhardt, 1787. 

The anonymous compiler says, in his preface, that he has selected 
passages from Le Toumeur's translation and has grouped them under 
new heads. Young had always seemed too sublime to him, he adds, 
and this is an attempt to simplify him. Chapters I-XVI are from the 
Night Thoughts. Chapter XVII is from the Last Day. 176 pp. 

Ueber den Geist der Originalwerke. Aus dem Eng- 
lischen von Young. Mit einem Sendschreiben des 
Herausgebers. Leipzig in der Beygangischen Buch- 
handlung, 1787. 

A new rendering by a person who signed himself "C," and who was 



167 

ignorant of the translations of 1760 and 1761. Cf. supra, p. 18. 
Also printed, "bey Johann Gottlob Hamann." 

Review: Anhang zu den 53. bis 86. Bande der Allgemeinen 
deutschen Bibliothek, 1791. Dritte Abtheilung, pp. 1814-1815. 
Harsh criticism. 

1789. Young's Nachtgedanken iiber Leben, Tod, und Unsterb- 

lichkeit, in deutschen Versen von I. C, A. Steingriiber. 
Gottingen, bei Vandenhoek und Ruprecht, 1789. 

A hexameter translation of the Night Thoughts, German text only, 
with notes taken from Ebert's, 540 pp. An "Anhang" has a trans- 
lation of Warton's poem on the Last Day, pp. 541-542. The preface 
has the usual brief account of Young. 

Reviews: Gottingische Anzeigen von gelehrten Sachen, 1789, 
pp. 737-738. Favorable. 

Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek. Vol. CI, ii, pp. 396-399. Very 
harsh. Says a hexameter translation is a preposterous idea. Kayser's 
fate should have been ample warning. 

Johann Arnold Ebert's Episteln und vermischte Gedichte. 
Hamburg, 1789. 

This contains many citations from Young, where Ebert has used 
thoughts of his favorite English poet, viz.: Ixvi, Ixviii, 73, 74, 75, 76, 
loi, 102, 107, 108, 109, no, III, 112, 113, 114, 117, 118, 125, 135, 
169, 297-299, 305, 326. Cf. also Vol. II, infra, 1795. 

An ode to Dr. Young, written, in 1760, by J. Ebert, in a copy of 
his translation of the Night Thoughts, belonging to the Countess 
of Stolberg. XXXV, pp. 297-299. 26 verses. 

Allgemeines Register. Neue Bibliothek der schonen 
Wissenschaf ten und der f reyen Kiinste. Leipzig, 1 789 : 
Verzeichniss der neuesten und vorziiglichsten Ver- 
lagsbiicher der Dyckischen Buchhandlung, p. 288: 
Youngs (D. Edward) nicht fabelhafter Centaur: Aus 
dem Englischen. 

1790. Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen oder Nachtgedanken iiber 

Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit. In neun Nachten 
. . . von Johann Arnold Ebert, Herzogol. Braun- 
schweigischem Hofrath, Prof, am Carolinum, und 
Canon. Sen. am Stifte St. Cyr. Verbesserte und 
vermehrte Auflage. Leipzig, im Schwickertschen Ver- 
lage, 1790. 



168 

This is Ebert's final edition of Vols. I-II, annotated, English and 
German. Vol. I contains Nights I-IV, 408 pp., which had appeared 
in 1760, second edition in 1768. Vol. II contains Nights V-VI, 
334 pp., which had appeared in 1763, second edition in 1769, q.v. 
Vols. III-IV were published in 1792, Vol. V in 1794, q.v. 

Review: AUgemeine deutsche Bibliothek, 1791. Vol. CIII, i, p. 
109. 

1 791. Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen oder Nachtgedanken nebst 

einigen andem Seiner Werke. Aus dem Englischen 
ins Deutsche ubersetzt und nach der letzten von dem 
Verfasser selbst besorgten Ausgabe herausgegeben von 
Johann Arnold Ebert, Herzogol. Braunschweigischem 
Hofrath, Prof, am Carolinum, und Canon. Sen. am 
Stifte St. Cyr. ErsterTheil. Verbesserte Auflage. 
Leipzig, im Schwickertschen Verlage, 1791. 

This volume contains the nine Nights, 334 pp., German text only, 
without notes, the last reprint of the 1767 (second, revised edition, 1777) 
edition. The second and third volumes appeared after Ebert's death, 
1799 and 181 1, respectively. 

1792. Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen oder Nachtgedanken iiber 

Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit. In neun Nachten 
. . . von Johann Arnold Ebert, Herzogl. . . . Hof- 
rath, Prof. . . . Leipzig, 1792. 

Vols. III-IV of the final, annotated edition, English and German. 
Vols. I-II appeared in 1790, q.v. Vol. Ill contains Nights VII-VIII, 
496 pp. Vol. IV contains Night IX, 334 pp. 

1793. Handbuch der Englischen Sprache oder Auswahl 

lehrreicher und unterhaltender Aufsatze aus den besten 
englischen Prosaisten und Dichtern, nebst biographi- 
schen und literarischen Nachrichten von den Ver- 
fassem und ihren Werken. Berlin, 1793. 

Biographical sketch of Young, pp. 401-402; verses 1-12 of the 
Resignation, in the original, p. 402 ; verses 28-188 of Night II, in the 
original, pp. 402-406. Reprinted in 1802, pp. 353-359. 

1794. Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen oder Nachtgedanken, iiber 

Leben, Tod, und Unsterblichkeit. In neun Nachten 
. . . von Johann Arnold Ebert, Herzogl. . . . Hof- 
rath, Prof. . . . Leipzig, 1794. 



169 

Vol. V of the final, annotated edition, English and German, con- 
taining the Satires, 396 pp. The first edition appeared in 1771, q.v. 

A Collection out of some of the most approved English 
Poets, viz. . . . Young . . . translated by the Author 
of the Conversatioii of an old Man with a Youth. 
Printed for Ritscher at Hannover, 1794. 

Sammlung aus einigen der beriihmtesten englischen 
Dichter, namlich . . . Young . . . iibersetzt von dem 
Verfasser des Greises an den Jiingling. 

This was not found. It is by Georg Friedrich Niemeyer. 
Review: Neue allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek. Vol. XIX, i, 
pp. 188-192. 

Sammelbande deutscher Biihnenstiicke XXX. No. 165 : 
Die Rache. Ein Trauerspiel in vier Aufziigen nach 
Eduard Young. . . . Leipzig, bey Georg August 
Greishammer, 1794. 

This is a prose translation by Heinrich Bliimner, of the Revenge, 
146 pp. An adapted translation, condensing Acts III and IV into 
the third Act. Printed in the same form in Deutsches Theater. 
Vol. L. Cf. supra, pp. 126-127. 

Neue Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der 
freyen Kiinste. Leipzig, 1794, Vol. LII, i, pp. 189- 
192. 

Review of: Les Nuits d' Young traduites de I'Anglois par le Tour- 
neur. Paris. 

Englische Blatter. Herausgegeben von Ludwig Schu- 
bart. . . . Dritter Band. . . . Erlangen, 1794: Ueber 
den Hang des Menschen zur Nachahmung, pp. 95-106, 
106-110. 

A discussion of imitation in general, followed by a criticism of the 
Germans for their literary imitation, drawing largely on Young's 
Conjectures. 

Der brittische Plutarch, oder Lebensbeschreibungen der 
grossten Manner in Grossbritannien, etc. . . . Aus 
dem Englischen . . . von Herrn Hofr. Meusel. Vols. 
VII-VIII. Also under the title : Biographieen grosser 
und beriihmter Manner aus der neuern brittischen 



170 

Geschichte. Aus dem Englischen, etc. . . . vonHofr. 
Meusel. Ziillichau, 1794. 

This was not found. 

Reviews: Neue allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek. Vol. XVIII, ii, 
pp. 444-449. Neue Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der 
freyen Kunste. Vol. XLIX, i, pp. 156-157. A review of the third 
edition of the English original. 

Contains a review of Young's life and works. 

Thanatologie oder Denkwurdigkeiten aus dem Gebiete 
der Graber, ein unterhaltendes Lesebuch fiir Kranke 
und Sterbende, von M. Joachim Leonhard Nicolaus 
Hacker, Prediger zu Haseloff, 1795. (302 pp.) 

This was not found. 

Review: Gottingische Anzeigen von gelehrten Sachen, 1796, 
pp. 1 9 1- 1 92. It contains selections from many writers, among them 
Young. 

1795. Neue Deutsche Monatsschrift. Herausgegeben von 
Friedrich Gentz. Berlin, 1795. 

In an article by Herder: Ueber die Fahigkeit zu sprechen und zu 
horen, Vol. II, pp. 58-59, there is Night II, verses 465-487, with 
Ebert's translation; pp. 63-64 contain Night II, verses 488-497, 
507-515, hkewise with Ebert's translation. To be found in Herders 
SammtUche Werke, edited by Suphan. Vol. XVIII, pp. 385-386, 
389-390- 

Johann Arnold Ebert's Episteln und vermischte Gedichte. 
Zweiter Theil Nach des Verfassers Tode mit einem 
Grundriss seines Lebens und Charakters heraus- 
gegeben von Johann Joachim Eschenburg, Ham- 
burg, 1795. 

A sketch of Ebert's activity as translator of Young, pp. xxviii-xxxi. 
Correspondence of Ebert with Young, pp. 73-91. 

Neue Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der 
freyen Kunste. Leipzig, 1795. Vol. LIV, ii, pp. 
212-229. 

A review of: Das Seifersdorfer Thai, von W. G. Becker, Dresden, 
1792, describes a melancholy copse in which a grotto of unhewn 
stones is dedicated to Young. A dim lamp illuminates the uncanny 
gloom and shows an altar, with cross and skull, the figure of a praying 



171 

saint in mosaic, and Young's opened Night Thoughts. Another view 
is of a memorial to Young's children, Philander and Narcissus, in the 
shape of an urn with a snake twined about it. 

1796. Auszug aus Youngs Nachtgedanken. Englisch und 
Teutsch. Halle, 1796. 

Selections translated by Johann Friedrich Kinderling. 

Friedrich von Blankenburg Litterarische Zusatze zu 
Johan Georg Sulzers allgemeiner Theorie der schonen 
Kiinste, etc. Leipzig, 1 796-1 798. 

This contains many notices and reviews of Young's works and 
German translations of the same. 

Neue Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der 
freyen Kunste. Leipzig, 1796. Vol. LVII, ii, p. 268. 
1796. 

A review of Fr. W. Cotter's Schauspiele attributes the fad of trans- 
lating into prose to Ebert's translation of the Night Thoughts. 

1798. Ausspruche der philosophirenden Vernunft und des 

reinen Herzens tiber die der Menschheit wichtigsten 
Gegenstande, etc., zusammengetragen aus den Schriften 
alterer und neuerer Denker. Jena, 1798. (By"Neu-r 
und Wyt-h.") 

This was not found, and is known only thru the: 
Review: Gottingische Anzeigen von Gelehrten Sachen. Got- 
tingen, 1798, pp. 1039-1040. 

1799. Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen oder Nachtgedanken nebst 

einigen andem Seiner Werke . . . von Johann Arnold 
Ebert, Herzogl. . . . Hofrath, Prof. . . . Zweyter 
Theil. Verbesserte Auflage. Leipzig, 1799. 

This volume contains : Der Jungste Tag, Die Macht der Religion, 
Paraphrase iiber einen Theil des Buchs Hiob, Der wahre Werth des 
menschHchen Lebens, Der nicht fabelhafte Centaur, Zwey Poetische 
Sendschreiben an Herm Pope, 412 pp. The first volume of this 
edition appeared in 1791, q.v. for full title, etc. The third volume 
appeared in 181 1. 

Neue Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften und der 
freyen Kunste. Leipzig, 1799. Vol. LXII, i, p. 143. 



172 

Review of: Satires d' Young, traduites de I'Anglois par T. P. 
Pertin. Paris, 1798. A free translation, condensing all the senti- 
ments on men into the first chapter, those on women into the second. 
Everything exotic to French customs has been omitted. 

1800. Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen oder Nachtgedanken iiber 
Leben, Tod und Unsterblichkeit mit Konstructionen 
und erlauternden Anmerkungen erleichtert von G. F. 
Herrmann M. A. Lehrer am Lyceum zu Wismar. 
Weissenfels und Leipzig, bey Friedrich Severin und 
Komp., 1800. 

An edition of the English text of the complete Night Thoughts, 
elucidated in copious notes, which make frequent use of Ebert's 
annotations, as the editor admits in his preface. 640 pp. 

Review: Allgemeine Literatur-Zeitung des Neunzehnten Jahr- 
hunderts. Jena und Leipzig, 1800. Vol. I, No. 5, Sp. 36-38. 

Allgemeiner Litterarischer Anzeiger, oder: Annalen 
der gesammten Litteratur fur die geschwinde Bekannt- 
machung verschiedener Nachrichten aus dem Gebiete 
der Gelehrsamkeit und Kunst. Fiinfter Band. Leip- 
zig, 1800. 

A review of: A Complete Edition of the Poets of Great Britain. 
London, 1 792-1 795. Vol. X. This contains a sketch of Young, 
pp. 1221-1222. 

1802. Des Dr. Edouard Young Klagen oder Nachtgedanken. 
In 3 Bandchen. Aus dem Englischen. Deutschland. 
1802. Zu finden in alien guten Buchhandlungen. 

A reprint, without preface, of the 1 780-1 784 editions of Eckert, q.v. 
Part I contains Nights I-V, 204 pp. Part II contains Nights VI-VII, 
132 pp. Part III contains Nights VIII-IX, 212 pp. 

Handbuch der Englischen Sprache, etc. 

A reprint of the edition of 1793, q.v. Contains a sketch of Young's 
life and works, pp. 353-359. 

Night Thoughts by Edward Young, D.D. With the Life 
of the Author, and Notes Critical and Explanatory.* 
Wienn. Printed for R. Sammer, Bookseller, 1802. 

* This edition was also printed in Hamburg and other cities. Cooke's 
edition : Poetical Works, with the Life of the Author, was published by Hinrichs 
in Leipzig, without date. 



173 

Vol. I contains Nights I-VI, i8o pp., and notes to the same, pp. 
181-209. Vol. II contains Nights VII-IX, 214 pp., with notes and 
index, pp. 215-262. 

1803. Irene. Eine Monatschrift. Herausgegeben von G, A. 

von Halem, Munster. Vol. Ill, pp. 1-6: Youngs 
Klage. Metrische Uebersetzung von Horstig. 

This is a translation, by Karl Gottlieb Horstig, in blank verse, of 
the first 94 verses of Night I. 

Adrastea von J. G. v. Herder. Leipzig, 1803. 

Part VI, p. 106, contains : Young. Ueber Gedanken und Rede, a 
translation of Night II, verses 465-471, 474-476, 478-487. To be 
found in Herders Sammtliche Werke, edited by Suphan, Vol. 
XXVII, pp. 392-393. Cf. also supra, 1780. Herder had trans- 
lated in blank verse Night I, verses 1-125, in his early Weimar days. 
To be found, as above, pp. 393-396. 

Part V, pp. 293-295, contains Night V, verses 1-66, of Oeder's 
translation. Cf. supra, 1754. Werke, Vol. XXIV, 275-277. 

1804. Irene. Eine Monatschrift. Herausgegeben von G. A. 

von Halem. Munster. Vol. II, pp. 39-50: Proben 
einer Auswahl aus E. Young's Satyren. 

These selections from the Satires were translated and published by 
C. G. Hensler, Prof., Kiel. He says, in his preface, that Ebert had 
translated the Satires, to be sure, but into prose; whereas they need 
a verse translation. Much of Young's satire has a too personal, 
national bearing, according to Hensler's view, and so he selected those 
passages that might concern the German reader. These passages are 
enumerated for Satires I and VII, to show the method pursued. 
Then follows his translation of 154 selected verses in blank verse, and 
of Satire I, verses 127-148 in the original. 

Gottingische Anzeigen von gelehrten Sachen. Gottingen, 
1804. 

Notice, p. 1520, of F. Dmochowski's Polish translation of the Last 
Day and Night I. Warsaw. 

1805. Klagen oder Nachtgedanken iiber Leben, Tod und 

Unsterblichkeit in neun Nachten. Von Dr. Eduard 
Young. Erster Band mit dem Bildniss des Verfassers. 
Neue Auflage. Frankfurt und Leipzig, 1805. 

This is a reprint of the three-volume Speier edition (1780) of Ebert's 



174 

translation of the Night Thoughts and other works of Young, q.v. for 
titles and contents. The two editions are identical. 

1806. Der Neue Teutsche Merkur vom Jahre 1806. Her- 

ausgegeben von C. M. Wieland. Vol. Ill, pp. 69-79 : 
Uebersetzungen aus Young's Satiren. 

These selections are also by C. G. Hensler. The preface is like 
that of Halem's Irene, 1804, q.v. supra. The passages selected from 
Satire II for translation are given this time, followed by his translation 
of 181 selected verses. He says, if the translation, as planned, is ever 
published, Ebert's notes will be of great value. It seems never to have 
appeared. 

1807. GottingischeAnzeigen vongelehrtenSachen. Gottingen, 

1807. 

In a review, pp. 1313-1320, of: Essays, biographical, critical, and 
historical, etc., by Nathan Drake, there is mention of the fact that Drake 
refutes the idea that is still prevalent in many parts of Germany, viz., 
that the Night Thoughts are a favorite national poem of the EngUsh 
people. 

1 810. Geschichte der Poesie und Beredsamkeit seit dem Ende 

des dreizehnten Jahrhunderts. Von Friedrich Bouter- 
wek. Gottingen, 1810. Vol. VIII, pp. 307-315. 

A sketch of Young's life and works. The Conjectures are not 
mentioned. 

RE\^Ew: Gottingische Anzeigen von gelehrten Sachen, p. 1536. 

181 1. Dr. Eduard Young's Klagen oder Nachtgedanken nebst 

einigen andern Seiner Werke . . . von Johann Arnold 
Ebert, HerzogL . . . Hofrath, Prof. . . . Dritter und 
letzter Theil. Verbesserte Auflage. Leipzig, 181 1. 

This volume contains Young's Satires and Resignation in Ebert's 
translation, 134 pp. The first volume of this edition appeared in 1791, 
q.v. for full title, etc. The second volume appeared in 1799. 

1812. Der Aufmerksame. Gratz. No. 25 : Gedanken in der 

Winternacht aus dem Englischen des Young gesammelt 
und iibersetzt. 

This is a prose translation of selections of the Night Thoughts, that 
could not be found. It is the work of Julius Franz Borgias Schneller. 



175 

1824. Abend-Zeitung auf das Jahr 1824 herausgegeben von 
Theodor Hell und Friedrich Kind. Dresden. Vol. IV, 
No. 245: Proben einer neuen Uebersetzung von 
Young's Nachtgedanken in der Versart des Originals. 
Aus der ersten Nacht, pp. 977-978. 

A translation, in blank verse, by Martin Heinrich August Schmidt, 
of Night I, verses 67-154. These selections were continued in 1825,' 
q.v., and incorporated in the translation of that year, q.v. 

Die Poesie und Beredsamkeit der Deutschen, von Luthers 
Zeit bis zur Gegenwart. Dargestellt von Franz Horn. 
Berlin, 1824. Vol. HI, pp. 82-90. 

A sketch of Young and his influence. 

1825. Abend-Zeitung auf das Jahr 1825. Dresden. Vol. I, 
No. 19 : Proben ciner neuen Uebersetzung von Young's 
Nachtgedanken in der Versart des Originals. Aus der 
ersten Nacht, pp. 73-74. No. 41 : (same title). Aus 
der zweiten Nacht, p. 161. 

A continuation of the selections translated by M. H. A. Schmidt in 
the Abend-Zeitung the previous year, and incorporated in the transla- 
tion below, q.v. The selections published in the above-cited articles 
are: Night I, verses 360-370, 383-434; Night II, verses 75-1 11. 

Klagen oder Nachtgedanken uber Leben, Tod und 
UnsterbHchkeit, von Dr. Eduard Young; in der 
Versart des Originals ubersetzt von M. H. A. Schmidt. 
Erster Theil. Sunt lacrymae rerum, et menteni mor- 
talia tangunt. virg. Dresden, 1825, in der Amold- 
ischen Buchhandlung. 

This first volume, the only one to appear, contains a brief bio- 
graphical sketch of Young, and the Night Thoughts I-VI, 190 pp. 
An argument of each Night is given, and pp. 191-203 contain: An- 
merkungen fiir gebildete, doch nicht gelehrte, Leser. Selections of 
this translation had appeared in the Abend-Zeitung, 1824-1825, q.v. 
supra. 

Review: Braunschweig's schone Literatur in den Jahren 1745 
bis 1800, etc. ... von Dr. Carl G. W. Schiller. Wolfenbuttel, 1845, 
q.v. Called "musterhaft." Schmidt is called the "scholar and suc- 
cessor of Ebert." 

Eduard Young's Nachtgedanken. Im Versmaas der 



176 

Urschrift iibersetzt von Ch. E. Gr. v. Bentzel Stemau. 
Frankfurt a. M., 1825. Gedruckt und verlegt bei 
H. L. Bronner. 

This edition opens with Klopstock's Ode to Young (1752). The 
preface contains a brief biography of Young and calls Young the 
"Homer fiihlender Denker." The nine Nights are pubHshed without 
notes or comments, 495 pp. Reprinted in Vienna in 1727, q.v. infra. 

1826. Eidora. Taschenbuch auf das Jahr 1826. Vierter 

Jahrgang. . . . Herausgegeben von H. Gardthausen. 
Leipzig und Altona : Youngs Nachtgedanken, uber- 
setzt von A. Binzer. Erste Nacht. Ueber Leben, 
Tod und Unsterblichkeit, pp. 228-244. 

A new, poor translation of Night I, in blank verse. 

1827. Eduard Young's Nachtgedanken. Im Versmass der 

Urschrift iibersetzt von Ch. E. Gr. v. Bentzel Stemau. 
Erster Theil. Wien, 1827. Gedruckt und verlegt 
bey Chr. Fr. Schade. 

A reprint of the Frankfort edition of 1825, q.v. This edition is, 
however, divided into two parts, the first containing Nights I-VI, 
130 pp. ; the second, Nights VII-IX, 199 pp. 

1832. Jahrbiicher der Literatur. Wien. Vol. LVII, Anzeige- 
Blatt, pp. 24-36: Geist und Leben der brittischen 
Dichter des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts. Von Chr. 
Kuflfner. 
A short sketch of Young's characteristics, p. 25. 

1835. Der Halbmensch oder das Modeleben. Ein classisches 
moralisches Werk, aus dem Englischen des Dr. 
Eduard Young, beriihmten Verfassers der "Nacht- 
gedanken," von Friedrich Wilhelm Bruckbrau, Konigl. 
Bayer. HauptzoUamts-Verwalter zu Burghausen. Augs- 
burg und Leipzig, in der von Jenisch und Stage'schen 
Verlagshandlung, 1835. 

A complete translation of the Centaur, 167 pp. The second edition 
appeared in 1840. 

1840. Der Halbmensch oder das Modeleben . . . des Dr. 
Eduard Young, . . . von Friedrich Wilhelm Bruckbrau. 



177 

The second edition of the 1835 edition, q.v. supra. 

1844. Eduard Young's Nachtgedanken. In's Deutsche iiber- 

tragen von Elise von Hohenhausen, geb. v. Ochs. 
Verlag und Druck von H. Hotop in Cassel, 1844. 

A translation that omits everything that seemed to the translator to 
be antiquated and out of harmony with the time in which the transla- 
tion was made, as is stated in the preface. Blank verse with occasional 
rime is used, and everything is sacrificed to the one purpose of repro- 
ducing Young line for line in the same number of verses. The suicide 
of her son Carl led the poetess to this task of translating the Night 
Thoughts. The preface contains a sketch of Young's hfe, etc., and 
some philosophical thoughts which are taken from Hegel. The trans- 
lation comprises 310 pp. For the second edition, cf. 1874. 

1845. Braunschweig's schone Literatur in den Jahren 1745 bis 

1800, die Epoche des Morgenrothes der deutschen 
schonen Literatur. Zum hundertjahrigen Stif- 
tungsfeste des Collegii Carolini, von Dr. Carl G. W. 
Schiller. Wolfenbuttel, 1845. 

A sketch of Ebert as the excellent translator of Young, commenda- 
tion of his services to German literature, and a survey of Young's 
influence in Germany, pp. 63-74. 

1854. The Standard Poets of Great Brittain from Mikon to 
W. Scott. Stuttgart. Metzler'sche Buchhandlung, 

1854. 

This was not available. The collection is by Ludwig (Louis) 
Gantter. Nos. 2, 6, and 14 contain works of Young. 

1868. Eine Abhandlung iiber den Dichter Young, von Dr. 
Michaelis. Programm der stadtischen Realschule zu 
Konigsberg in Preussen, etc., 1868. 

A characterization of political and literary conditions of England at 
the time of Young. Principal dates of Young's life, with a brief 
sketch of his works. Three pages are devoted to an analysis of the 
Night Thoughts. 14 pp. 

1874. Nachtgedanken. Von Edward Young. Aus dem Eng- 
lischen iibertragen von Elise von Hohenhausen, geb. 
von Ochs. Zweite Auflage, herausgegeben und mit 
einem Vorworte versehen von Fr. von Hohenhausen. 
Leipzig. Verlag von Robert Friese. 



178 

This is the second edition of the 1844 Cassel edition. It appeared 
without date, and is given in catalogs as 1873, 1874, and 1876. As 
appears from the preface, the editor thinks this is the lirst German 
translation in verse. She dwells upon the fact, further, that in Eng- 
land and France the Night Thoughts are given a place alongside the 
Family Bible, whereas in Germany, much to her chagrin, they are 
scarcely read. A brief sketch of Young's life. The nine Nights 
comprise 404 pp. Cf. supra, p. 75. 

1879. Zur Textgeschichte des Klopstockschen Messias. R. 
Hamel. Rostock, 1879. 

Hamel thinks that alliteration in the Night Thoughts influenced the 
verse of the Messias. 

Review: Euphorion, Vol. I, 1894, pp. 745-747. 

Archiv fiir Litteraturgeschichte. F. Schnorr von Carols- 
feld. Leipzig. Vol. XIV, pp. 185-188: Eine Elegie 
von Herrn Doct. Gothe. 

A reprint of the poem that appeared in theNeuer gelehrterMercurius, 
Altona, 1774, q.v. Edited by R. M. Werner. Cf. Goethe's poem 
Das Alter, mjra, 1896. 



Deutsche Litteraturdenkmale des 18. und 19. Jahrhun- 
derts. Vol. XXIX-XXX, 1888-1890. 

Reprint, edited by Alexander von Weilen, of: Briefe iiber Merk- 
wurdigkeiten der Litteratur, 1766, q.v. 

1890. A Critical Analysis of Edward Young's Night Thoughts, 
vom ordentlichen Lehrer Richard Thiel. Programm 
fur das Schuljahr 1889-1890, etc. Berent, 1890. 

Character of the literature of the first half of the eighteenth century, 
pp. 3-4; Analysis, pp. 4-10; Critic, pp. 11-19. Contains inaccurate 
and incorrect data. 

J890. Friedrich Carl Casimir Freiherr von Creuz und seine 
Dichtungen. Carl Hartmann. Dissertation. Leip- 
zig, 1890. Universitats-Buchdruckereivon J. Horning. 
Heidelberg. 
On Young's influence, pp. 31-32, 56-71. 

1892. Der Blankvers in Thomson's Seasons und Young's 
Night Thoughts. Hubert Clages. Dissertation. Halle, 
1892. 



179 

Introduction, p. 3; B. Der Blankvers der Night Thoughts, pp. 23- 
37; Silbenmessung, pp. 23-38; Wortbetonung, pp. 28-30; Vers- 
rythmus, pp. 30-37. Entirely statistical. 

1894. Beitrage zur Kenntnis des Lebens imd der Schriften des 

Dichters Fr. Carl Casimir von Creuz. Udo Bion. 
Dissertation. Miinchen, 1894. 

On Young's influence, pp. 14-21. 

Review: Euphorion, Vol. Ill, pp. 514-518. 

1895. Youngs Nachtgedanken und ihr Einfluss auf die deutsche 

Litteratur von Johannes Barnstorff. Mit einem 
Vorwort von Franz Muncker. Bamberg, 1895. 

Einleitung, pp. 1-9; Die Englische Litteratur zur Zeit Youngs, 
pp. 10-12; Youngs Nachtgedanken, pp. 13-22; Der Einfluss der 
Nachtgedanken, pp. 23-83; Uebersetzungen und Besprechungen, 
pp. 84-87. 

Review: Euphorion, 1896. Vol. V, pp. 137-144, Spiridion 
Wukadinowic, Graz. 

Vincenz Bernhard Tscharner (i 728-1 778) von Gustav 
Tobler. Bern, 1895. 

A sketch of Young's influence upon Tscharner, and the latter's 
interest in the Night Thoughts, pp. 3, 26-27, 28, 31. 

1896. Zeitschrift des Vereins fiir Volkskunde. Karl Weinhold. 

Berlin, 1896. Vol. VI, p. 211. 

A comparison of a popular couplet: Der Tod, der ist ein grober 
Mann, as influenced by the Night Thoughts, with Goethe's poem, 
Das Alter. Cf. supra, 1774 and 1886, also pp. 110-1:1. 

1 901. Edward Youngs Natursinn. Richard Lange. Leipzig 
Dissertation, 1901. (Printed in Nordhausen.) 

I. Einleitung, pp. 5-7. II. Die subjective Naturbetrachtung, 
pp. 7-18. III. Die mystische Naturbetrachtung, pp. 18-24. IV. 
Die religiose Naturbetrachtung, pp. 24-34. V. Die objektive 
Naturbetrachtung, pp. 34-59. VI. Die Wissenschaftliche Natur- 
betrachtung, pp. 59-68. VII. Schluss, pp. 68-72. 

Edward Young's Gedicht "The Night Thoughts," ein 
Beitrag zur Litteratur des 18. Jahrhunderts. Leipzig 
Dissertation. Bruno Heeg. (Printed in Ehrenfrie- 
dersdorf, 1901.) 



180 

Einleitung, pp. 5-7; Der Einfluss der zeitgenossischen Dichtung 
und Philosophic auf die "Night Thoughts" und Quellen derselben. 
A. Prosaische Schriften, pp. 8-28; B. Poetische Schriften, pp. 29-50. 

1903. Jahrbuch der deutschen Shakespeare- Gesellschaft. Ber- 
lin, 1903. Vol. XXXIX, pp. 1-42 : Edward Young, 
On Original Composition. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte 
der Shakespeare- Kritik im achtzehnten Jahrhundert. 
Von A. Brandl. 

An essay on Young's Conjectures and its relations to Shakspere 
criticism. Young's predecessors, his sources, and the influence of the 
Conjectures are treated, followed by a reprint of the Conjectures 
according to the .first edition, citing the emendations of the second 
edition, in the notes. 



INDEX 



PROPER NAMES, PERIODICALS, AND ANONYMOUS WORKS 



Ahend-Zeitung, 175. 

Abbt, Thomas, 96, 113} 

Addison, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 20, 42, jg, 60, 

96, ^ojr, 133. 
Akenside, 61, 71, 89. 
Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek, 18, 

95> i5o> 152, 154, 155. 156, 158, 

159, 160, 161, 167, t68. 
Allgemeine Litteratur-Zeitung, 172. 
Allgemeiner Litterarischer Anzeiger, 

172. 
Allgemeines Verzeichnis neuer Biicher, 

161, 162. 
Almanack der deutschen Musen, 126, 

15s, 156, 158, 163. 
Altonaischer Gelehrter Mercurius, 1 50, 

151. 153. 155- 
Annalen der gesammten Litteratur, 172. 
"Anthologie der Deutschen," 102, 

103. 
Aquinas, Thomas, 109. 
Ariosto, 24. 
Aristotle, 8, 13, 35, 52. 
Der Aujmerksame, 174. 
Der A uj seller, oder Vormund, 130, 

136. 
Ausfiihrliche und kritische Nach- 

richten, loj, 150, 151. 
" Ausspriiche der philosophirenden 

Vernunft," 171. 
Auszug merkwurdiger Sachen, 141. 
Auszuge und Urtheile, loj. 



B 



Bacon, 4, 5, 8, 9. 94, 

Bahrdt, K. F., g^. 

Bar, 140, 141. 

Basedow, 70, 162. 

Batteux, 14, 144. 

Baumgarten, A., 20, 52. 

Beaumont and Fletcher, 23. 

Behn, Mrs., 125. 

Belustigungen des Verstandes und 

des Witzes (Gottsched), 80. 
" Belustigungen fiir das Herz und 

den Geschmack," 152. 
Bentzel Sternau, 74, 176. 
Berens, J. Ch., 28. 
Berge, 60. 
Berlinische Privilegirte Zeilungen, 

138. 
" Betrachtungen iiber die englischen 

Dichter," 122, 163. 
Beytrag zur Litteratur und zum Ver- 

gniigen, 16. 
Beytrdge zur neuesten Geschichte der 

Litteratur, 123, 142. 
Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaj- 

ten, 15, 16, 22, 2j, 66, 123, 124, 

I2J, 140, 142, 143, 144, 145, 147, 
150, 151, 166. 

Binzer, A., 176. 
Bissy, Conte de, 157. 
Blankenburg, F. von, 130, 133, 171. 
Bliimner, H., 126, 127, 169. 
Bodmer, H., 11, 12, 13, 14, 38, 57, 



1 Figures in italics refer to footnotes. 

ISl 



182 



59, 6o, 62, 65, 75, 76, 80, 90, 105, 

120, 121, 136. 
Bockh, 97. 
Borck, II, 12. 
Bouterwek, F., 174. 
" Braunschweig's schone Literatur," 

175, 177- 
Brawe, 127-128. 
Brcitinger, 12. 
Bremer Beitrdge, x, xi, 62, 63, 80, 

84, 88, 89, 90. 
Bremisches Magazin, 16, 149. 
Brcntano, C. M., 119. 
Brieje, die neueste Litteratur betrej- 

jend, X, 12, 16, 19-22, 28, 31, 44, 

51, 66, 68, 86, 8g, 102, 107, 130, 

143, 147, 149, 152. 
Brieje iiber Merkwurdigkeiten der 

Litteratur (Gerstenberg), x, 22-26, 

97, 125, 153, 178. 
Brittische Bibliotltek, 124, i2j, 133, 

142, 151. 

"Der Brittische Plutarch," 169. 
Brittisches Museum, 163. 
Bruckbrau, F. W., 176. 
Bucholtz, F., 31. 
Burger, 58. 
Byron, 112. 

C 
Caesar, 45. 

" Der Christ auf dem Sterbebette," 1 02 . 
Cicero, 8, 94. 
Clodius, 91. 
Collardeau, 159. 
Corneille, 12, 25, 124, 125, 142. 
Cramer, C. F., 73, 91, 165. 
Cramer, J. A., 17, 65, 66, 83-84, 107, 

143, 157- 

Creuz, 65, 78-79, 159, 178, 179. 

Critische Nachrichten, 137. 

Crito (Bodmer), 76, 105, 137. 

Croncgk, 65, 88-89. 

Crugot, xi, 65, 93-94, 98- 

Curtius, M. K., 103. 

C. W. C. Fr. von C, 102. 



D 
Defoe, 60. 

Deutsche Bibliothek (Klotz), 69, 154, 

156. 



"Die Deutsche Schaubiihne," 126, 

147. 
Deutsches Museum, 133, 165. 
" Deutsches Theater," 169. 
Diogenes, 94. 

Dmochowski, F., 130, 173. 
Dodsley, R., 142. 
Donatus, 39. 
Drake, Nathan, 174. 
DrolHnger, 13. 
Dryden, i, 6, 7, 8, 60. 
Dusch, J. J., 67, 68, 95-96, 132, 145, 

150. 152, 153, 155- 

E 

Ebert, J. A., x, 15, 46, 62, 63, 64, 
66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 76, 
78, 79, 81-83, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 
89, 90, 91. 92, 93, 95. loi, 104, 106, 
108, 117, 121, 122, 129, 130, 131, 
132, 133, 13s. 137. 138, 139, 140, 141, 
144, 145, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 
155, 156, 157, 158, 159. 160, 161, 
162, 163, 164, 165, 167, 168, 170, 

171. 172, 173. 174, 175, 177- 
Eckert, Professor, 72, 74, 122, 124, 

126, 129, 132, 164, 166, 172. 
Eidora (Gardthausen), 176. 
Der Einsame, 103. 
Einsame Nachtgedanken (Miiller), 

102. 
Englische Blatter (Schubart), 18, 169. 
Eschenburg, J. J., 133, 170. 
Euripides, 38. 



Ferguson, 82. 
Festus, 35. 

Fischbach, F. L., 104. 
Fletcher. See Beaumont. 
Frankfurter Gelehrte Aiizeigen, 71, 

/oj, 160. 
Freye Urtheile und Nachricliten, 140. 
" Der Freymijthige," 152. 
Freymuthige Brieje, 15, 146, 147. 



Gannter, L., 177. 
Gardthausen. See Eidora. 



183 



" Gedanken in der Winternacht," 174. 
Gelehrte Beytrdge zu den Braun- 

schweigischen Anzeigen, 145, 151. 
Gelehrte Beytrdge zu den Rigischen 

Anzeigen, 44. 
Gelehrte Nachrichten, 138, 140, 142, 

143, 146, 148. 
Gelehrter Mercurius, 17. 
Gellert, 65, 71, 85-86, 100, 153, 158. 
Geniekult, ix, x, 21, 28, 54, 56. 
Gentleman's Magazine, 16, 18, 149. 
Gentz, F. See Neue Detdsche Mo- 

natsschrift. 
Gerstenberg, x, ij, 15, 22-26, 27, 

58, 68, 96-97, 125, 126, 153. 
Geselhchaftliche Bemiihungen der 

Welt die christliche Religion an- 

zupreizen, 103. 
Gessner, 95. 

Geusau, H. von, 64, 138. 
Giseke, 84. 
Glatz, 105. 
Gleim, 62, 82, 86-87, 87, 88, 90, 97, 

114, iij, lib, 121, 156. 
Glover, 59, 81, 82, 120, 136, 142, 154. 
Der Gliickselige, 153. 
Gockingk, 91-92, 123. 
Goethe, 58, 61, 68, 70, 99, 109-111, 

161, 178, 179. 
Gotaische gelehrte Zeitungen, 163. 
Getter, F. W., 171. 
Gottsched, x, ii, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 

59. 65, 75, 79, 80, 120, 121, 124, 
i3o> m, 135. 136, 144, 147. 148. 

Gottsched, Louise, 13, 79, 130, 136. 
"Gottingen League (Dichterbund)," 

xi, 89. 
Gottingisclre Anzeigen, 16, 62, 64, 

77, 130. 136, 137. 138, 145. 146, 
148, 149, 153, 155, 156, 157, 159, 
163, 167, 170, 171, 173, 174. 

Gray, 61, 62, 71, 89, 118. 

Grillparzer, 128, I2g. 

Guardian, 59, 129, 136. 



H 



Hacker, M. J. L. N., 170. 
Hagedorn, 81, 82, 89, i2i> 140. 
Halem, G. A. von. See Irene. 
Haller, 63, 64, 77, 78, 7/7, 138, 146. 



Hamann, x, /j, 18, 21, 22, 23, 2b, 27, 
28-40, 40, 47, 52, 57, 65, 68, 96, 160. 

Hamburgische Beytrdge, 139. 

" Hamburgische Dramaturgie," x, 
26-28, 130. 

Hamburgisclie Nachrichten, 146, 148, 
150. 

Hamburgische neue Zeitungen, 97, 

" Handbuch der Englischen Sprache," 
132, 168, 172. 

Hardenberg, F. von, loi. 

Haug, 98. 

Hegel, 177. 

Heinse, 68, 70, 115. 

Hell, Theodore, 175. 

Hensler, J. G., 122, 173, 174. 

Herder, x, ij, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 
22, 23, 27, 2g, SI, S^' S^, 40, 40-5 7» 
58, 64, 68, 71, 72, 73, 74, 107-109, 
i-r^, 131, 139, 152, 153. 159, 164; 
165, 166, 170, 173. 

Hering, A. G., 103. 

Herrmann, G. F., 74, 172. 

Hervey, 71, 102, 108. 

Heydenreich, A. H., 104. 

Holderlin, loi, 112. 

Hohenhausen, Elise von, 75, 177. 

Home, 23. 

Homer, 5, 7, 8, 13, 24, 35, 38, 39, 50, 

52, 55, 56, 57, 72, 176. 
Horace, 37, 45, 47, 48, ^9, 50, 51, 

86, 88, 94. 
Horn, F., 175. 
Horstig, K. G., 173. 
Huber, J. C., 126, 127, 147. 
Der Hypochondrist (Gerstenberg), 23. 



Irene (Halem), 74, 122, 173, 174. 



Jacobi, J. G., 68, 70, 73, 87, 97, 115- 

117. 
Jahrbiicher der Litcratur (Kuffner), 

176. 
Jean Paul. See Richter. 
Johnson, Dr., 94. 
Jonson, 6, 7, 8, 13. 
Jung-Stilling, 99-100. 



184 



Kant, 37, 54-57- 

Kayser, Ch. B., 63, 64, 66, 67, 77, 

79, 106, 138, 146, 148, 152, 160, 167. 
Kern, P. E., 103. 
Kind, J. F., 175. 
Kinderling, J. F., 171. 
" Klage bey dem Tode der Gelieb- 

ten," 102. 
Kleist, E. von, 82, 86, 153. 
Kleist, H. W. von, 118. 
Klinger, 58. 
Klopstock, X, xi, 38, 46, 50, 60, 

62, 65, 68, 70, 73, 78, 87, 89, 90-91, 

92, 95, 98, 99, 100, loi, 105, 106, 

107, III, 112, 7/6, 118, 138, 146, 

165, 176, 178. 
Klopstock, Meta, 90. 
Klotz, 68, 69, 116, 154, 156. 
Knebel, K. L., 68, 98. 
Konigshergische Gelehrte und Poli- 

tische Zeilungen, 42, 152, 153. 
Korner, 112. 
Kretsch, H. C, 102. 
Kritische Nachrichten, 116. 



Lange, 153. 

Lansdowne, 133, 163, 165. 

La Roche, Sophie von, 99. 

Lavater, xi, 65, 94-95. 

Lenz, 58, 68, 98-99, 121. 

Lessing, 12, 13, 14, 22, 26-28, 31, 

34, 62, 64, 65, 66, 106-107, 127, 

128, 130, 138, 143, 177. 
Lessing, K. G., 114. 
Le Tourneur, 157, 160, 166, 169. 
Lilo, 128. 
Livy, 124, 151. 
Lowen, 102. 
Lowth, R., j8. 



M 



Magus im Norden. See Hamann. 

Matthisson, 73, 117-118. 

Mauvillon und Unzer, 61, 71, 86, 

158, 159- 
Meinhardt, J. N., 2j. 



"Mein Vergniigen in Zurich," 102. 
Melmoth, Courtney, 161. 
Mendelssohn, 19, "20, 2j, 89, g6, iij, 

152. 
Meusel, J. G., 17, 155, 169, 170. 
Michael Angelo, 133. 
Michaehs, 70, 91, 113-114. 
Milton, 6, 8, 16, 57, 60, 66, 76, 84, 

85, 91, 96, 98, 99, 100, loj, 107, 

108, 109, 118, 177. 
Moissy, 97, 159. 

"Moralische Betrachtungen," 166. 
Moralische Wochenschriften, 59, 60, 

105. 
Moritz, K. P., 104. 
Moser, 113. 
Muller, P. L. S., 102. 



N 



" Nachtgedanken bey einer gefahr- 

lichen Reise," 102. 
Natho, F. E., 102. 
Neue allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek, 

169, 170. 
Neue Bibliothek der schonen Wissen- 

schaften, 124, 125, 155, 157, 159, 

161, 167, 169, 170, 171. 
Neue Critische Briefe (Bodmer), 

63, 76, 120, 136. 
Neue Deutsche Monatsschrift (Gentz), 

73, 165, 166, 170. 
Neue Erwe iter un gen der Erkenntnis, 

12, 140. 
"Neue Probestiicke der Englischen 

Schaubiihne," 143. 
" Neuer Biichersaal " (Gottsched), 

135- 
Neuer Cclehrter Merciirius, 160, 178. 
Neuer Zeitungen von Gelehrten 

Sachen, 15, 62, 130, 131, 135, 136, 

138, 140, 145, 146, 148, 151, 157, 

158. 
Das Neueste aus der anmuthigen 

Gelehrsamkeit (Gottsched), 15, 144, 

147- 
Der Neue Teutsche Merkur, 122, 174. 
Newton, 55. 

Nicolai, 12, 16, 19, 66, 68, 147, 149. 
Niemeyer, G. F., 169. 



185 



Der Nordische Aufseher (Cramer), 

17, 66, 8s, 107, 143, 157- 
Novalis. See Hardenberg. 



O 



Oeder, G. W., 64, 108, 139, 173. 
Ogilvie, 61. 

Ossian, 50, 57, 71, 73, 89, 93, 97, 
106, 118. 



"Pensees Angloises," 146, 148. 

Percy's "Reliques," 46, 57, 71. 

Pertin, T. P., 172. 

Pindar, 4, 8, 32, 35, 158. 

Plato, 8, 94, 115. 

Plutarch, 94, 169. 

Ponceau, Doigni du, 160. 

Pope, I, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 16, sS, 
60, 67, 80, 81, 89, 94, 95, 97, 100, 
loj, 107, 108, 109, 120, 129, 131, 
i35> 141, 142, 151, 154, 164, 166, 
171. 

Prior, 61, 89. 

R 

Racine, 95. 

Rambach, J. J., 17, 41, 42, 47, 153, 

158- 
Ramler, 127, 144. 
Ramsay, i. 
Raphael, 24. 
Resewitz, 20, 152. 
Richardson, 9, 10, 6j, 65, 81, 90. 
Richter, Jean Paul, 70, 76, 100. 
"Romantic School," 119. 
Rousseau, 99, 118. 
Rowe, Elizabeth, 61, 130, 148. 
Ruffhead, 109. 



Sachs, Hans, 57. 

Salzmann, 109. 

"Sammelbande deutscher Biihnen- 

stiicke," 169. 
Sammlung vermischter Schrijten, 132, 

144, 151. 
" Scherze der Lyrischen Muse," 102. 



Schiller, 70, 73, 74, 98, 104, 111-112. 

Schilling, 103. 

Schlegel, J. A., 14, 22, 23, 83, 84, 

130, 144. 
Schlegel, J. E., 13. 
Schlegel, J. H., 124, 125, 151. 
Schlesische Berichte von gelehrlen 

Sachen, gj. 
"Schlesische Sammlung," 102. 
Schmid, M. Ch. H., 16, 102, 103, 

122, 123, 125, 126, 130, 133, 154, 

157,158, 161,165. 
Schmidt, M. A. H., 75, 175. 
Schneller, J. F. B., 74, 174. 
Sch5naich, 80.' 
Schubart, 18, 68, 97-98, 169. 
Schuldrama, 35. 
Scott, Walter, 177. 
Seneca, 115. 
Shaftesbury, 8, 16, 89. 
Shakspere, ix, i, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11-14, 

19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 32, 35, 

SO, 52, 56, 57> 72, 73. 96, 108, 125, 

126, 127, 142, 143, 153, 155, 180. 
Socrates, 30, 36, 160. 
Sophocles, 24, 25, 52, 56, jy. 
Spalding, 95. 

Spectator, 8, 9, 11, 13, 59, 60. 
Spenser, i, 24. 
"Standard Poets of Great Britain," 

i77-_ 
Staudlin, G. F., 104. 
Steele, 59, 129. 

Steingriiber, J. C. A., 73, 167. 
Sternau. See Bentzel Sternau. 
Sterne, 104, 117, i6r. 
Stilling. See Jung-Stilling. 
" Stockhausens kritischer Entwurf," 

160. 
Stolberg, Countess of, 9.2, 167. 
Stolberg, F. L., 92-93. 
Storm and Stress, 28, 57. 
"Stunden der Einsamkeit," 102. 
Sucro, 90. 
Sulzer, 19, 171. 
Swift, 4, 5, 6, 42, 43, 60. 



Toiler, 59. 

Teubern, H. E. von, 15, lO, 18, 146, 
147, 149. 



186 



Der Teutsche Merkur, i6o. 

"Theater der Britten," 158. 

Theremin, 105. 

Thomson, i, 71, 81, 85, 98, loj, 178. 

Thucydides, 32. 

Tickell, 133. 

Tieck, 118-119. 

Tiedge, 70. 

Triller, D. W., 80. 

Tscharner, 63, 64, 77, 77-78, 138, 

146, 179. 
TuUin, 22, 97, 153. 

U 

"Universal Lexicon" (Zedler), 11. 
Unterhaltungen, 133, 157. 
Unzer. See Mauvillon. 
Uz, 62, 65, 86, 87, 87-88, 105, 116. 

V 

Veillodter, V. K., 105. 
Der Verniinjtler, 60. 
Virgil, 6, 8. 
Der Vormund. See Aufseher. 



W 

Wagner, H. L., 58, 73, 114. 

Waiblinger, W., 112. 

Warburton, 9. 

Warton, 2, 24, 61, 85, 151, 166, 167. 

Weckerlin, iii. 

Der Weise, 155. 

Weisse, ^j. 

Westphdlische Bemiihungen, 137. 

Wettengel, F. T., 104. 

Wetzel, J. K., 70, 104, 161. 

Wieland, 55, 56, 58, 61, 65, 69, 97, 

98, 105-106, 112, 174. 
Withof, J. L., 142. 
Wordsworth, 71. 



Zachariae, 85, 87, 102. 

Zedler, 11. 

Zelter, j/o. 

Zimmermann, xi, 65, 94, 106. 

Zum Vergniigen, 144. 



H hOh^ 85 



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